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- Less time than I thought
- Better organizing because  the Avatar assignment was quite big
- I liked figuring out what my artistic vision was, although it can be difficult
- I did not like working with the feedback forms, it did not work for me, I learned I prefer asking feedback though a natural conversation about each others art

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David Shrigley
http://davidshrigley.com/
David John Shrigley is a British visual artist. He makes various works, ranging from illustrations to tattoos to music.

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David Shrigley is a contemporary British artist with an internationally renowned drawing practice. Shrigley’s work is humorous, interspersed with his witty observations and written commentary that satirizes everyday life and awkward interactions. He works loosely and improvisationally: “It’s not the kind of drawing where you’re trying to get their eyes in the right place, you’re just trying to tell somebody something as directly as possible,” he explains. “It’s somewhere between handwriting and drawing. But then again there are also certain rules to what I do, like I’m not allowed to re-draw or anything and it just is what it is.”

http://www.artnet.com/artists/david-shrigley/
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After seeing Shrigley's work I concluded that there are more things I like than I thought. When I saw his works in the museum I just like them for their directness, he tells you as it is. I really like the simplicity of his illustrations and after some research I also figured out that humor is also a common theme in his works.

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I tried working with the feedback forms and I noticed they don't really work for me. I learned that I prefer asking for feedback directly and learning from that or engaging in a conversation about artistic visions or each others work and letting the feedback happen naturally. The feedback forms were way too strict for me in what kind of information I had to get from a conversation.

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Show: ‘Bee and Puppycat’

Bee and Puppycat was created by Natasha Allegri.

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Link interview : https://times.frederator.com/post/101804267445/nat-interview-g-where-did-you-get-the-idea

“Frederator Times: Where did you get the idea for Bee and PuppyCat?”

“Natasha Allegri: The idea is rooted in magical girl anime, and Sailor Moon especially, down to, like, a cat falling onto the head of the main character.

But, the idea itself came from when Eric Homan, head of creative development for Frederator Studios and Cartoon Hangover, asked me to pitch. And the best part is he said that our audiences are male teens, and I remember thinking, “I don’t think I could come up for anything for that.” But if I’m going to pitch something, I might as well pitch something that I would be interested in working on for a period of time.

And that’s when one of the first things that popped into my head was a girl, mainly a girl main character because that was my favorite thing to draw, and a cat-like character because I had my own cat that I was really invested in, and I wanted to put my cat, Pancake, into as much stuff as I could. And if I was going to draw it over and over again, the best thing to draw would be a cat.“

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From this interview it seems that Natasha Allegri created this show because she was personally interested in it. The reason doesn’t seem very deep and very simple. Also in the interview Natasha talks about her interest in magical girl shows and explains the connection between these and coming of age shows. This seems to be a big inspiration to her. After reading all this it is very clear that this is a series by her. The simplicity and magical girl elements simply make the series what it is.
This vision is quite similar to my interests and I think that is why I like the show so much and why I think its similar to my own artistic vision.

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Bee and PuppyCat Full Series (Ep. 1-10) - Cartoon Hangover

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first draft:
how: i use soft colors and lines and like to use textured brushes
what: I usually draw cute things and people and doodle simple animals
why: I like to make cute things that make people smile

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second draft:
I think my artistic vision is creating worlds for escapism. I talked to multiple classmates and they helped me see that the things I create all have to do with escapism. I also noticed I like to create worlds and characters to aid this escapist fantasy. Working in teams is also a thing that I like although I do prefer working with people with similar views.
Most of my work is either fantasy related or bright and colorful (or both!) and makes me wonder what kind of world this area or character would be in. I hope to have other people think about this too. :)

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First I started with the siluethes actually because I wasn’t sure what my character would look like. I went and look at the peronality archetype and made a few sketches as how would the silhouette look like.

After that I focused primarily on my character and I tried to go off an animal. I wanted to make a raccoon but I found that a bit uncreative and unoriginal hence why I went to heron and tried to make something out of its silhouette.

Later when I had my character in mind I played and experimented with the shapes in their body but settled at using all of the three primary shapes (circle, triangle and square)

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David Shrigley

is a british artist who lives and works in glasgow. while best known for his dark and humorous drawings, shrigley’s work also includes sculpture, painting, music and animation. his work has been the subject of numerous international exhibitions and in 2013 he was nominated for the turner prize. his latest book ‘weak messages create bad situations’ is now available from canongate.

designboom (DB): what originally made you want to become an artist?

david shrigley (DS): when I was about 11 years old I decided I wanted to design record covers for adam and the ants. record covers were possibly my introduction to art. I remember being obsessed with the cover of ‘live at the witch trials’ by the fall.

From: https://www.designboom.com/art/interview-with-artist-david-shrigley-01-27-2015/

David Shrigley: my art doesn’t need explanation – it is what it is. Trying to gauge the personality of an artist through their art is usually a futile exercise, but the work of David Shrigley almost demands some sort of layman psychoanalysis.

From: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/13/david-shrigley-ngv-melbourne-interview

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Reflection:

Rebecca Sugar has successfully represented the lgbt community in public media (Tv). After the airing of the wedding episode between two lgbt characters other shows have in kids tv included lgbt representation (owl house, shera, etc). Personally I believe with this movement Rebecca Sugar placed a successful ground for future lgbt representation. How this plays a role in my artistic vision is mostly visuals of Rebecca Sugar, the design of their characters and colour pallets, on the other hand representation is a very important thing to me and I think the show has done a good job at representing bodies and sexualities which is what I want to do as well.

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DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF ANIMATED SERIES AND FIND ONE SERIES THAT COMES CLOSE TO YOUR OWN ARTISTIC VISION OR THAT YOU LIKE VERY MUCH. RESEARCH THE ARTISTIC VISION THAT THE MAKERS HAD FOR THIS SERIES EN REFLECT ON HOW YOU SEE THIS BACK IN THE SERIES. (POST ON MIRO)

Animated series: Steven universe

interview with Rebecca Sugar

One of the main things people love about Steven Universe is that we get to see people who look, act, and identify like us for the first time in all-ages media. Was that a goal you had when creating the series?

My goal when I created the show was just to be very honest. It was always supposed to be based on my relationship with my brother. I didn’t have a huge circle of friends at school; I was really introverted, and he was always there to be my best friend when I came home. And I didn’t realize until later that having someone who really understood me made a world of difference in my life, and a lot of that had to do with maybe not feeling understood by anyone else.

What are you most excited about for the future of Steven Universe, and for the future of LGBTQ+ representation in G-rated media overall?

I hope to see so much more of it! There are a million things to be done and a million stories to be told. There are so many experiences that people have that they’ve been discouraged from talking about, that we should get to communicate to each other, and I just can’t wait to see all of it in the next generation of this media. There’s so much to do it’s staggering.

The future of Steven, there’s a lot I still want to do and explore with these characters. I really can’t wait for people to see the next set of episodes. I can’t talk about the movie yet, but I can’t wait until I can. It’s been such a long journey working on this show, and I’m so grateful for it.

from: https://www.them.us/story/rebecca-sugar-steven-universe-interview

As the series has evolved, you’ve done more to explore gender, relationships, and other more mature themes that other cartoons don’t touch on. You’ve said before that you’re not trying to make a point with the themes you explore, but do you think it’s more important now to do that kind of work in animation than in previous years?

Yes. It’s very important right now. Animation is such an incredible tool when it comes to making characters that the audience can empathize with. To watch an animated character and to believe that they’re real requires the viewer to project so much of themselves into the drawings they’re watching. With a cartoon, you can make something feel classic and iconic and absurdly simple. And so much of the preexisting language for cartoons is heavily gendered. For example, how many cartoon couples are two identical characters, except one has eyelashes and a bow? This is the time and this is the tool to expand people’s visual language when it comes to what a couple looks like, and to create gender nonconforming characters that are so compelling that you can’t deny their humanity. Because by believing in them, they are already a reflection of your humanity.

“ANIMATION IS AN INCREDIBLE TOOL WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING CHARACTERS THE AUDIENCE CAN EMPATHIZE WITH.”

To me, exploring stories like that through a cartoon is everything I’m excited about. Cartoons are expected to be, and really need to be, simple and readable and clear. It’s already a lot to ask someone to look at a drawing and think it’s really alive. You need to be able to understand what their expressions mean, and that’s the skill of making a cartoon. So, trying to do subtle, complex stories within a cartoon is very challenging. But that’s what’s exciting about it. Seeing cartoon characters express real, complicated feelings that I’ve never seen a cartoon character emote, and trying to invent what that looks like — that is the fun of this thing. I think the only way to approach that is to tell stories that get characters to a place where you can see on their faces an expression of a feeling that other cartoons haven’t felt before.

from : https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/1/15657682/steven-universe-rebecca-sugar-cartoon-network-animation-interview

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What do you think needs to change in the world (of design)?

I feel that the world of design is know mostly for graphic design and even that is known just in a surface level as something clean and easy. I think there isn’t enough light shed on a “messy “design, “incomplete” design, “ugly” design, etc. Modern art (as picasos abstract art etc) is looked down on by the general public as ugly, confusing and useless in any other case then gallery fine arts. I would like to see abstraction in modern day portrayed as something nice and expressive as well to see it more then in art galleries or places especially made for only artists,

What is your role in this change?

I don’t think I have any role in this change so far as I am just a student and my work isn’t showcased anywhere for the public to see apart of Instagram. I will change this in the near future as I would like to join an animation festival in my school years.

Which qualities do you have now that will help you accomplish this goal?

Ambition and willingness to experiment as well as want for a change for the better. They may not seem as much yet.

Which qualities do you still need to develop to accomplish this goal?

Being able to stick to a work and finish it, get rid of procrastination and being able to advocate for my work.

What kind of work have you already made that expresses (parts )of your Artistic Vision

None so far that would be influential. I have created bunch of abstract illustrations and one abstract animation.

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https://2122.mywdka.nl/VGWMAJ21AN/2021/10/09/masterpost-research-katja-4/

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Audience, impact, appreciation, recognition

Rebecca Sugar is succesfull in our definition of success as she has made an impact on hildres media, she has got recognition and appreciation.

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Steven universe was the first show to show a gay wedding on public tv in kids show. It layed a succeful ground for the future of queer representantion in children media.
Steven universe focuses mostly on lqbtq+ representation but it shows a varriety in body positivity as well.
Rebecca Sugar has achieved her goal in representing different sexualities and genders.

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A deteailed pdf about representation and stereotypes in steven universe

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Cartoon Network's Steven Universe has always been Rebecca Sugar's love letter to the queer community. The show has given us groundbreaking representation, casually normalizing gay love and trans identities and specifically highlighting non-binary characters. For once queer characters aren't used as tokens. Sugar has created a narrative that positions our stories and unique struggles alongside the mental health problems that plague modern American culture. Even more impressive, these issues are packaged so openly and simply - they fit perfectly into a show geared towards kids.

Steven Universe The Movie continues to expand on this foundation with a refresher course on the show's key tenants. The plot kicks off with vengeful gem Spinel's attack on the Crystal Gems, which results in a factory reset of our heroes that can only be repaired by reliving their character development arcs.

It's kind of a genius move as it welcomes new viewers with a solid rundown of the Crystal Gems' stories to date, reminds existing fans how far these characters have come, and demonstrates Sugar's philosophy on healthy emotional behavior. Amethyst recovers via Steven's reassured friendship. Pearl regains her self-confidence and Garnet rediscovers the importance of integrity, towards others as well as herself.

Sadly, the cloyingly sweet Spinel has undergone this process in reverse.

The trauma inflicted upon her by Pink Diamond has emotionally damaged Spinel to the point that she doesn't believe in friendship, integrity, or her own self-worth. Upon discovering she'd been abandoned and forgotten by the person she unflinchingly loved, Spinel sees her life as a cruel joke. The wrath of that epiphany carries her across the galaxy to attack those who were closest to Pink/Rose, and she gleefully erases Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl's memories of Rose. Even more poignantly, when Steven hits her with the Rejuvenator, Spinel's expression is one of joy as she thinks her trauma is being erased, although we later learn it was only compartmentalized.

The crux of the movie, however, is Steven's ability to change and grow.

In the past, whether it be his attitude or his approach, Steven has always been willing to give something or someone a chance. His unwavering belief in people to grow and change for the better lives in the show's heart. It's what allows him to connect with the devastated Spinel, even during her worst moments. It's why his "weapon" is a shield and his powers are all related to healing and protection.

The movie's climax is Steven's realization that he has to direct that concept inward. His recognition that the work is never done is a message for all of us. Steven comments that even when he's saved the universe, there will be times where he won't be living in a "happily ever after" world.

It's powerful metaphor from Rebecca Sugar, who wants us to understand that there will always be obstacles and challenges, and sometimes there will be setbacks. But like the Crystal Gems demonstrate in the movie, that's when you lean on your friends, rebuild your confidence, focus on integrity, and change.

Now please enjoy this gratuitous Steg gif.

-explains it all, even when no one wants to listen. You can voice your complaints or see Adam working out her issues via cardboard and cheap paint at @cardboardrealness. Honestly, she could use the engagement.

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'Steven Universe The Movie' expertly tackles mental health and the notion of change - WUSSY MAG

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Cartoon Network's Steven Universe has always been Rebecca Sugar's love letter to the queer community. The show has given us groundbreaking representation, casually normalizing gay love and trans identities and specifically highlighting non-binary characters. For once queer characters aren't used as tokens.

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Mental illness awareness shown in Steven Universe Future

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What happens after you've fulfilled your ultimate purpose? That's what Steven is trying to figure out in the epilogue to the original series. While most shows would rather end right after the big climactic encounter it's been building towards, Steven Universe Future decided to continue the story by exploring an important topic that's often overlooked in children's media - mental health. The limited series focuses on Steven's inner struggles, the trauma he's suffered throughout his life, and how it can manifest itself in harmful behavior to himself and those around him.

Created by the multi-talented Rebecca Sugar, Steven Universe followed the adventures of Steven and the Crystal Gems - a group of humanoid aliens that manifest their forms from the light that emits from their gemstones - as they face off against the threat of an intergalactic war with other gems from the planet Homeworld. But now that the war has ended, Steven finds himself devoid of any purpose in life, which is ironic seeing that his new role involves him giving purpose to other gems.

The limited series starts off with Steven as a guide for recovered gems that have been corrupted by the war. He basically gives them a brief summary of the events that occurred during - and after - the war and accompanies them to Little Homeworld, an area for gems to acclimate themselves to life on Earth by going through an educational program. And for a while, things seemed to be going well for Steven. He enjoyed helping other gems by giving them a new sense of purpose on Earth and assigning them with jobs that lent to their strengths. But once he notices his friends moving in separate directions, he starts to panic about his own future.

Source: IMDB

It seems like everyone else is sure of what they want to do with the rest of their lives, while Steven can't seem to find any meaning without his friends around for him to help. His girlfriend, Connie, is moving to the other side of the country, and to make matters worse, he finds himself dealing with the sins of his mother, and how her actions have affected - and even traumatized - other characters who were around her.

One of which is the Pink Pearl who Steven refers to as Volleyball. Steven tries to use his healing powers on her but finds that he is unable to heal her shattered eye. It's revealed that Volleyball's "damage" comes from the psychological trauma she endured during one of his mother's temper tantrums when she was younger. Volleyball continues to make excuses for her and blames herself for "standing too close to her" at the time. There's even a moment where she instinctively curls up in fear in the presence of danger, which shows just how deep the trauma lies. Once she comes to terms with her own self-denial, she finds comfort in the arms of Pearl over their shared trauma, which allows her to finally open up about her pain.

The rest of the series sees Steven losing control of his powers and even lashing out into fits of anger, similar to his mother. It's revealed that he's actually suffering from PTSD due to the traumatic events he's experienced at such a young age, and his body is now reacting to any emotional stress as if his life were in danger. And since he also believes he's losing his support system, he's prone to even more dangerous outbursts. Much like the original series, Steven Universe Future manages to convey complex themes with the use of metaphors, and Steven's PTSD is presented in a simple way that children can understand while also providing enough nuance for adults to read into.

The fact that the series took this direction is beyond commendable. Seeing the main hero deal with deeply-rooted issues regarding his sense of self-worth isn't something you would normally expect from a children's cartoon, but Steven Universe is known to tackle some mature and sometimes dark subject matter, like loss, abusive relationships, consent, and the complicated emotions that come from interpersonal connections.

Throughout the series, Steven is known to put his own feelings aside in order to help others, which finally catches up to him as he descends into a state of denial - reminiscent of Volleyball's- where he's unable to open up about the problems he's been internalizing. It's interesting how the show manages to take something that's usually considered to be a "positive" attribute like selflessness and examine the negative effects it can have on a person, especially if they don't take some time to focus on their own problems before helping others. And Steven's need to be needed shows just how low his self-worth is whenever he feels he's not being useful to other people.

Although Steven's friends provide a safe space for him to open up about his own problems, his incessant need to put the well-being of others before his own only exacerbates his unstable condition, which leads to him transforming into the monster he believes himself to be. In order to subdue him, the climax sees Steven finally leaning on his loved ones for support as they embrace him and allow him to feel whatever it is he needs to feel.

There's a clear intent to normalize discussions surrounding mental health in media aimed at children and the importance of safe spaces for them to talk about their issues. The internal struggles we face are often the most difficult ones to address, let alone overcome. And having a cartoon that showcases the importance of mental health is incredibly valuable for younger generations of viewers.

The show even shines a light on an important aspect regarding the support system's reactions to the victim's trauma. At one point, a couple of characters start to blame themselves for Steven's current condition, but what they fail to grasp at the moment is how they're shifting the attention away from Steven and to themselves, which isn't really helping Steven. While there are many emotions involved in such a volatile situation, it's important to focus on the person who's in need of help.

The series ends with Steven deciding to move out, see the world, and actually focus on himself for a change, something he was never able to do in the original series. He even mentions that he'll continue to check in with his new therapist while he's away on his trip, which is a good way to encourage viewers who are also struggling with their own mental health to seek professional help.

While the show is known for its progressive themes and inclusive nature when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation in its diverse cast of characters, it somehow keeps finding ways to surprise viewers by exploring all sorts of serious topics. It's good to see a cartoon deviate from the typical, happily-ever-after narrative, and actually present a more nuanced and realistic look at the days that follow the so-called happy ending. It acknowledges that things can change and some days can be harder than others. It's also comforting for viewers to know that their feelings are valid, and it's ok to reach out - because we're all a work in progress.

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Steven Universe Future: Normalizing Mental Health Awareness

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What happens after you've fulfilled your ultimate purpose? That's what Steven is trying to figure out in the epilogue to the original series. While most shows would rather end right after the big climactic encounter it's been building towards, Steven Universe Future decided to continue the story by exploring an important topic that's often overlooked in children's media - mental health.

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Fan discussion about mental illnesses of the characters

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It's safe to say that one of the most important things in fiction are characters. You could have the most clever, nuanced, well-written stories in history and it would fall flat on it's face if it has boring characters we don't want to see succeed. And SU definitely succeeds with great characters. They're fun, interesting, and... Well, not exactly mentally stable.

It's easy to say that the crystal gems have PTSD, and they do have several symptoms of that. But why don't we get creative with this. Let's really psychoanalyze the gem's. (Along with other characters.)

I'll start things off with Pearl.

Again, it's easy to say that she has PTSD. But looking up disorders, I think she's more likely to have a borderline personality disorder. For someone to have borderline personality disorder, he/she must have five of nine traits. Let's dive in.

Extreme reactions-including panic, depression, rage, or frantic actions-to abandonment, whether real or perceived.

Pearl has definitely shown extreme reactions when it comes to Rose. She practically yells at Steven when she realizes that Rose might've kept secrets from her sole confidant.

A pattern of intense and stormy relationships with family, friends, and loved ones, often veering from extreme closeness and love (idealization) to extreme dislike or anger. (devaluation)

Idealization: Rose Quartz. Devaluation: Greg Universe. (At least in the flashbacks.)

Distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self, which can result in sudden changes in feelings, opinions, values, or plans and goals for the future (such as school or career choices)

Pearl's lack of self-esteem and confidence definitely attributes to this. She practically forgets about finding Peridot so she could feel brief confidence as Sardonyx.

Impulsive and often dangerous behaviors, such as spending sprees, unsafe sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, and binge eating.

Trying to take Steven into space in a barely functional ship, with parts she stole from Greg's van. See also the Sardonyx incident, where she lied to Garnet for a quick fix of strength and self-confidence.

Recurring suicidal behaviors or threats or self-harming behavior, such as cutting.

Needlessly sacrificing yourself constantly in battle (Sworn to the sword) can attribute to this.

Intense and highly changeable moods, with each episode lasting from a few hours to a few days.

Maybe? Not 100% sure on this one.

Chronic feelings of emptiness and/or boredom.

Eh, not really.

Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger.

Eh, this is more Garnet/Ruby than Pearl.

Having stress-related paranoid thoughts or severe dissociative symptoms, such as feeling cut off from oneself, observing oneself from outside the body, or losing touch with reality.

Maybe? She doesn't grasp the fact that the ship in 'Space Race' is falling apart until Steven snaps her out of it.

Counting them up, looks like Pearl has 5 to 6 out of 9 symptoms of borderline personality disorder.

Now it's your turn, everyone. Just how mentally damaged are some of these characters?

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It's safe to say that one of the most important things in fiction are characters. You could have the most clever, nuanced, well-written stories in history and it would fall flat on it's face if it has boring characters we don't want to see succeed. And SU definitely succeeds with great characters.

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Ptsd representation

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Steven Universe has been a feminist fan favorite since it debuted in 2013 because it's fun, worthwhile, and offers revolutionary queer representation as well as critiques of colonization. Over the last seven years, the show's creator Rebecca Sugar has expanded to include the 2019 film Steven Universe: The Movie and Steven Universe Future, a spinoff in which Steven (Zach Callison) is all grown up and he and the Crystal Gems are living a new, harmonious life together.

While Steven Universe has always dealt with mental health and trauma, Steven Universe Future is shining a brighter light specifically on Steven's mental health. He's been traumatized by fighting an interstellar war, narrowly escaping death dozens of times, and bearing witness to a lot of death and loss. Steven's spent a great deal of time questioning his own role in the universe and orienting himself around his ability to help others, which comes to a head during Steven Universe: The Movie: Steven becomes responsible for saving the world again when the people he loves and cares about develop an amnesia that makes them lose their personalities. Throughout all of the obstacles he's encountered, Steven has been smiling, laughing, and making sure others are okay. But now, he's forced to face the most difficult thing of all: his own pain and trauma.

In Steven Universe Future 's first episode, Steven becomes so frustrated that someone won't allow him to help them that he begins to glow pink, a new sign of his internalized pain. "At this point, Steven's been in so many life-threatening situations that his gem is responding as if his life is in danger," Sugar recently told . "It's making him stronger. It's making [him] faster. It's making him heavier. It's making him whatever he needs to be to get out of a life-threatening situation. The problem is that he's not in a life-threatening situation, but his body has learned to react that way."

In the second episode, "Guidance," Steven tries to tell everyone what to do based on what he thinks is best, which causes the city he lives in to go awry. In "Snow Day," the Crystal Gems try to intervene and help Steven when they realize he's about to boil over. And, in "Dreams," Steven is scolded by his house in a dream: "Steven, no one needs your help," his house says, "so why are you still here?" These moments culminate into "Growing Pains," the first episode where Steven's pain is verbalized, and he's diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. Some of the Bitch team came together to discuss the way Steven Universe and its subsequent spinoffs have handled mental health, and why it's so revolutionary for an animated series delve into such serious topics.

What did you think about "Prickly Pair," the episode where Steven's stress and anxiety is embodied in a cactus a.k.a. Cactus Steven?

Marina Watanabe, senior social media editor: I was a little surprised when the show's writers chose to end Season 1 of Steven Universe Future on such a seemingly uneventful note. There's no life or death threat or potential world-ending crisis; instead, "Prickly Pair" focuses solely on Steven's ability to express emotion, and the shame that accompanies it. Throughout the original series, we see young Steven constantly attempting to see the good in others and having a positive outlook during crisis. Now that he's a teenager, the audience learns this natural disposition hasn't always manifested in healthy ways. Steven struggles to express negative emotions, including fear, anger, and disappointment.

Rachel Charlene Lewis, senior editor: Steven has faced so much trauma without ever really voicing or naming it. We've watched him almost die several times. We've watched the people around him die, even if they're resurrected later. We've watched him break and come together time and time again with the fate of an entire universe (and, sometimes, multiple) relying completely on him. And he's a kid! Steven is still learning, growing, and figuring out who he is (sometimes literally), but he's doing all of that under an impossible amount of pressure. In "Prickly Pair," Cactus Steven finally voices all of that trauma.

MW: After spending so much time continuously saving others and putting out fires, his life doesn't have a clear path, and he feels a sense of betrayal and resentment toward his loved ones who are seemingly moving on with their lives and finding their callings. Instead of expressing that he feels like his support system is leaving him behind, he buries his feelings, and they essentially manifest in the form of Cactus Steven. Cactus Steven begins growing in size and gains the ability to speak, repeating all of the negative things Steven has said about his friends and family. Initially, Steven tries to hide his cactus self in a box out of shame, but at the end of the episode, he realizes an act of self-love is the only way to solve the problem. Steven apologizes to Cactus Steven and hugs him, even though it hurts. Unlearning our toxic coping mechanisms may be painful, but it's the only way to heal.

RCL: T hough Steven feels betrayed by Cactus Steven-after all, Cactus Steven is sharing his deepest thoughts and feelings with the rest of the Crystal Gems-he also realizes just how intensely he's buried his pain.

Let's talk about the Steven Universe Future's standout episode: "Growing Pains."

MW: Ahhh! It was so good. I've watched it twice now and ugly cried both times. To see a children's show explain trauma in depth (but in a way anyone can understand) feels like a privilege.

RCL: I also teared up while watching it because so much of the episode focuses on Steven's relationships with the humans in his life (his dad, Connie, Connie's mom). It felt so human and so real. It was like Steven Universe Future briefly lost its layer of surrealism and put itself in our world: Steven's just a teenager who's facing his trauma head on.

MW: As a whole, Steven Universe has always been great about helping younger viewers understand heavy, painful topics. A standout moment to me is when Steven is being examined by Connie's mom, Dr. Maheswaran (Mary Elizabeth McGlynn). When Steven asks if his past trauma means there's something wrong with his brain, Maheswaran explains the medical science behind PTSD and why he's reacting so strongly to a relatively minor stressor. She says, "All these experiences have been subjecting your body to a harmful amount of stress, and that's affecting your ability to respond to new forms of stress in a healthy way. You've been dealing with genuine threats from such a young age, your body is now responding to minor threats as if your life were in danger." She then explains that Steven is only reacting this way now because he feels he's losing his support system. It felt really smart and significant to have an actual doctor discuss the impact of trauma so that the information was medically accurate.

RCL: Yes. There was something so important about that information coming from someone who knows and cares for Steven. It's also so great to see how far they've come: Maheswaran was once panicked about Steven, the Crystal Gems, and the magic and mystery of his world, but now she honors who he is and helps him honor himself. Though Steven is surrounded by many loving caretakers, they're also people with a lot happening in their own worlds. Maheswaran can help take care of Steven because of the nature of her profession, and she helps him let go of his need to protect the people around him.

Steven physically embodies pain and trauma in Steven Universe Future; his body literally glows pink. Sugar told io9, "Your body is reacting in a very, very ancient way to a feeling that is extremely severe. I thought that that was fascinating, and I recognized that in some of my reactions, and I wanted to figure out a way to express that though some of the metaphorical language that we built up on the show and the heightened reality that we get to work with on the show."

MW: PTSD specifically has really intense physical symptoms, so it makes sense the show would choose to represent that physically. A lot of folks might only understand mental illness as something that happens "inside your head," so I'm thankful they showed and explained the physical reactions your body can go through as well.

RCL: As an animated series, especially one where someone can turn pink and swell all over isn't out of the ordinary, Steven Universe has always made interesting choices about how it represents emotions onscreen. Garnet (Estelle) is a physical manifestation of love. Amethyst's (Michaela Dietz) biggest struggle-the fact that she's small and "wrong" and doesn't look the way she's "supposed to look"-is clearly physical. It was so jarring to watch Greg (Tom Scharpling) cut his super long rockstar hair to save Steven. Now, we're seeing Steven get that moment.

I agree that it was important for him to visibly change. For a long time, viewers have been waiting for the moment where Steven finally gets the care he needs; turning pink was a sharp reminder of just how much he needs that care. It also signals to the people around him that he needs help, and, if it had remained internal, I don't know if Steven would've ever reached out.

How does Steven Universe Future compare to Steven Universe's portrayal of mental health?

MW: I don't necessarily see a huge difference between the two since the original series always navigated mental health themes. The Crystal Gems and many of the major characters in the show have all experienced trauma to some degree, and a lot of episodes explore their individual coping mechanisms in response to that trauma. We see the Gems process their grief over Rose/Pink Diamond's (Susan Egan) death in different ways (Pearl's denial, Amethyst's anger, and Garnet's acceptance). We see Lapis's (Jennifer Paz-Fedorov) difficulty trusting others and forming new relationships, Jasper's (Kimberly Brooks) inferiority complex and self-destructiveness, Lars's (Matthew James Moy) self-loathing and lack of self-esteem, and Sadie's (Kate Micucci) social anxiety.

There are relatively low stakes in Steven Universe Future, so these characters finally have a chance to breathe and deal with their shit. And because Future has such a heavy emphasis on Steven's trauma, his issues aren't neatly wrapped up in an episode or two. The loss of his support system and what that means for his PTSD is the crux of both seasons, which means the show gets to bring home the point that healing takes time. There wasn't time to explore that to the same degree in the original series because they were moving from one crisis to the next.

RCL: I think a part of the shifting portrayal is that the audience has, theoretically, grown older as Steven has. The show no longer has the same expectation that it'll appeal to kids in the same way the original was meant to; since Steven is a teenager now, he gets to dive into more difficult topics in a more transparent way, and, since we're older, too, we might have a better read on those emotions and have more of a desire to watch an entire episode where Steven sits in a doctor's office and asks for help with his childhood trauma.

Why do you think Steven Universe has so much appeal, especially to people who have mental illnesses or struggle with their mental health?

MW: As someone navigating my own mental illnesses, I took a lot of comfort in the way the show normalized mental health issues and handled them in a compassionate, loving way. I started watching the series when I was in the throes of depression and dealing with a really toxic relationship.

RCL: My younger brother recommended Steven Universe to me; as soon as I started catching on to the show's themes, I was hooked. I have really bad anxiety, and I love shows that feel bright, light, and adventurous but are still deep and thoughtful; these kinds of shows are so difficult to find. I have several themes and genres I will not watch (sexual violence, domestic abuse, horror) because they just don't make me feel good and aren't how I want to spend my time. Steven Universe navigates these fine lines perfectly. I already miss it.

MW: Steven Universe was immensely comforting because it takes trauma and mental illness seriously but infuses it with a sweet, wholesomeness (unlike grittier "adult" shows that can be more triggering or difficult to watch.) The characters in Steven Universe are ultimately so accepting and understanding of each other's differences, and it makes their world such a joy to watch.

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Steven Universe Is Finally Facing His Own Trauma

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Steven Universe has been a feminist fan favorite since it debuted in 2013 because it's fun, worthwhile, and offers revolutionary queer representation as well as critiques of colonization.

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Talks about subtext of the characters relationship and positions to each other

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is one of the most progressive kids cartoons ever created. The show follows a young Steven (Zach Callison) raised by three magical alien warriors - the Crystal Gems - sworn to protect the universe. Although the show's explicit narrative is fun, witty, and engaging, Steven Universe provides a masterful example of a series with a unique, rich subtext.

The intergalactic family, created by Rebecca Sugar (Cartoon Network's first solo female show creator), is full of underlying messages about same-sex relationships, a subtext that has brought the show immense acclaim and controversy. This key thread throughout the series is illustrated through the characters Garnet (Estelle), Amethyst (Michaela Dietz), and Pearl (Deedee Magno).

Pearl, coded as white (though others have read her as Asian) and femme, displays the most overt queer romance themes in Steven Universe 's characters. Pearl has internal conflict from being in love with the Crystal Gem's former leader Rose Quartz (Susan Egan), who symbolically died (gave up her physical form) to give birth to Steven. We see this in her jealousy and resentment towards Steven's dad for "stealing" Rose, and her continual attempts to convince everyone that she and Rose had a "special relationship".

In "Rose's Scabbard", Pearl opens up about her feelings towards Rose, using a hologram to recall a discussion the two once had. During the virtual conversation (which she recited verbatim) she tells Rose "I will do anything for you". By her finally opening up, we get a deeper look into Pearl as a three-dimensional character. Even the title ("Rose's Scabbard") is a metaphor for her opening up (a scabbard is the sheath for a sword, so Pearl "putting away her weapon" is symbolic for her letting her guard down). She also reveals her feelings of betrayal, realizing that her bond with Rose wasn't as special as she wanted it to be.

Pearl and Rose's relationship operates as a universal metaphor for being in love with someone who's not in love with you. It also, however, serves as a proxy for two problems that can arise specific to queer relationships: 1. when one partner's sexuality is fluid and the other's is closer to a binary; 2. when one partner is oriented towards polyamory, while the other, in order to stay in the relationship, represses their desire for monogamy.

While Pearl's subtext is intriguing, Amethyst is one of the most fascinating characters in terms of the ambiguity and the fluidity of her race, gender, and sexuality. Amethyst has been read as African-American, Latina, or East Asian, but a case can be made that she's coded as racially ambiguous. She relates to Steven (who's coded as bi-racial) the most, has darker-colored (purple) skin with white hair (a contrast symbolic of her being part-white, part-person of color [POC]), and laments about not fitting in (her insecurities about "being short" and not strong enough are codes for her not fitting into to a defined race or sexuality).

Amethyst's ambiguity is symbolically reinforced by her ability to morph into things (an owl, baby seat, helicopter, wrestler, clone of another Gem, etc.). This power is paradoxical; it allows her to conform, but is also code-switching. This want or need to change is a critique of how even within both the multi-racial and multi-gendered communities' pushes to acknowledge diverse experiences, there's still pressure to - and some choose to - adhere to binaries. Amethyst is an allegory for issues regarding performed identity, and how these problems are difficult to solve since they usually reify binaries (ie, make a choice - you're black or you're white, you're straight or you're gay, you're femme or you're butch).

To oversimplify it, the answer provided in queer theory, and in Steven Universe, is self-determination. Much of Amethyst's internal conflict goes away when she finally accepts who she is and who she isn't. Ironically, the mineralogical meaning of amethyst (the stone) shows that the solution is inward. Amethyst represents spiritual healing, calmness, and peace, and Amethyst's gem rests over her heart. This provides a brilliant layered metaphor: in order for Amethyst to find peace, she has to be herself (be more like amethyst).

Steven Universe offers highly nuanced subtexts, which is a credit to the writers, the voice actors, and the artists on the series. It's one of, if not the most, progressive family cartoons to date, particularly in its ability to display all the complexities of queer life. At Comic Con 2016, Sugar said: "It's very important to me that we speak to kids about consent. That we speak to kids about identity ... I want to feel like I exist, and I want everyone else who wants to feel that way to feel that way too."

Much of the media depicting queerness is obsessed with "coming out" narratives: the processes in becoming openly gay, lesbian, etc. Although the "coming out" narrative can connect to broader universal themes and tropes (self-determination in a society that rewards conformity and punishes nonconformity), it reduces the queer experience to one single, fetishized narrative framed within the hetero-normative gaze. The show explicitly and implicitly displays same-sex romance, but it isn't consumed by same-sex sex. The Gems watch movies, play video games, love, have friendships, get heartbroken, argue, make up, have small talk, and have existential conversations.

Yet, despite Steven Universe 's progressive queer imagery, it's marred by some of its problematic depictions of race, particularly blackness. This questionable imagery arises in the show's "black" main character, Garnet.

Current leader of the Gems, Garnet is undoubtedly coded as African-American. Voiced by singer Estelle, she has red skin (a color visually close to brown), a large, cubic afro, and a over-the-top hip-to-waist ratio. Also, like other characters coded as black, her lips are drawn on, while (with very few exceptions) characters coded as non-black are just given a line for a mouth, replicating the idea that black people have bigger lips.

Of the three Gems, Garnet is also the most overtly sexualized. The show highlights this during "Fusion", when two or more gems perform provocative dances to combine forms and powers. One example of Garnet's hyper-sexualization is her fusion with Amethyst. Sugilite is formed by Garnet dropping spread eagle, and Amethyst running in between her legs ("Coach Steven"). This is a dive away from the intimacy and sensuousness fusions usually represent, and into base sexual desire. Even Sugilite's characterization is problematic, since the result of two POC-coded Gems fusing is a wild, unstable behemoth that delights in destruction. This is in contrast to Pearl, who lightens the color palette and temperament of all the fusions of which she's a part.

In another episode, enemy-turned-friend Peridot (Shelby Rabara) ruminates over what it's like to fuse, and Garnet offers to fuse with her. Here, Garnet is the first Gem we see who just wants to "get it on". This display of sex positivity is not "bad" in and of itself, but since fusion is Steven Universe 's code for not just sex, but intimacy, consent, communication, and teamwork to achieve a goal, this reasserts Garnet's position as the most explicitly sexual of the three, in both perception and action.

Finally, in the episode "Alone Together", the Gems console Steven about his inability to fuse. Amethyst says "it's really hard, even for us", to which Garnet responds "Not for me". One can make a diegetic argument of why she would say this (Garnet is the strongest of the three Gems, and is herself a fusion of two female Gems. The fact that she can remain fused all day everyday is symbolic of her acceptance of her sexuality). At the same time, this statement adds to Garnet being a symbol of black female hyper-sexuality.

One of the biggest issues surrounding Garnet as a proxy for black women, however, is an intersectional one, dealing with race and consent.

Consent is a topic the show tackles at different points ( the fusion between Jasper [Kimberly Brooks] and Lapis [Jennifer Paz), which raises questions around consent in an abusive relationship, is a great example), but it's mainly addressed in the fusion between Pearl and Garnet. Pearl fabricates danger in order to repeatedly fuse with Garnet. Here, Garnet isn't only an outlet for Pearl's emotional baggage (the void left from Rose's absence) and her (implicit) sexual frustration; Garnet's "consent" is achieved through manipulation. This coincides with a troubling recurring trope in popular media of the black female body being exploited as a pedagogical tool for others. To teach kids watching the show about consent, Garnet's body was used, and not even in a subliminal way.

Despite the numerous problematic parts of Garnet's characterization, there are interesting and positive aspects as well. The afro and gauntlets are nods to Black Power iconography and the black womanist tradition within art, academia, and liberation movements. Her "third eye" (giving her the ability to look into the future) is both a nod to theories of spiritual connection, awareness, and awakening within Indian, Afrocentric, and other spiritual cosmologies, and a symbol of black women's broader, intersectional understanding of past history and present reality.

Garnet even shows solidarity with other black women in the show. During the "Beach Party" episode, the Steven, the Gems, and the Pizza family fight a giant puffer-fish. The grandmother of the Pizza family takes the lead to distract the monster while others attack from the periphery. Seeing her run towards danger, Mr. Pizza (Godfrey C. Danchimah) panics and yells out that she's "crazy". Garnet replies with a smile: "Not crazy, brave." Aside from Garnet "being" black, her using the word "brave" is an (most likely) unintentional, but over-determined reference to "All the Women are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us are Brave", a seminal work on the intersectional reading of race, class, and gender issues in American history.

The numerous examples in this piece don't even begin to scratch the surface of all the covert messages in Steven Universe: the mineralogical meaning of the Gem's gems, how the placement of the gems on their bodies informs their characterization; the phallic symbol on Jasper; the innuendos behind Pearl and her "pearl"; the acceptance and rejection of binaries; the nature vs. nurture debate inherent in Steven being raised by three women; Pearl and Amethyst's different reactions to their partners optioning for heterosexual relationships; emotional and sexual manipulation; Steven's relationship with Connie (Grace Rolek); his feminist impulse; the presence and absence of fathers; reconciliation between straight, cis-gendered folk and the queer community; Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, and The Powerpuff Girls references; and so many more.

All of the above praise and critique of the show's subtext isn't meant to attack the intentions of Steven Universe 's writers, artists, or voice actors, but rather to illustrate how texts take on lives of their own once they're created.

Think of imagination as a solar system: it's huge, but not boundless. Like planets, stories don't materialize from thin air; they're created from matter that's already there. Subtexts aren't only formed by the messages we consciously insert, but by our subconscious biases and blindspots rising to the surface. Even the most progressive minds are still informed by social conceptions and realities that can be positive, negative, or somewhere in between. All of us are susceptible to this. As a heterosexual, cis-gendered male, it's very likely, even after all my assertions, that there are biases and blindspots in my analysis of Steven Universe because it passes through those prisms (to read a black queer critique of the show, check out this article by Riley H).

If an artist draws a type of dragon that no one has ever seen, regardless of its uniqueness or singularity, his or her drawing is still informed by every single drawing, story, or mythology about dragons. So when creating a fictional black magical female alien, artists pull from their experiences and perceptions of black women, using ideas that can be progressive or problematic. Even a show that attempts and clearly succeeds at subverting stereotypes has the capacity to reproduce them. Ultimately, Steven Universe is profound but not infallible show, which its subtexts make clear.

Joshua Adams is a writer and arts and culture journalist from Chicago. He holds a BA in African American Studies from the University of Virginia, and a Journalism MA from the University of Southern California. His writings often explain current and historical cultural phenomenon through personal narratives. Currently, he's working on a young adult fiction novel. He thinks Scooby Apocalypse is amazing, hopes Ms. Marvel and Miles Morales date at some point, and tears up a little when he remembers that Will Smith could have been Neo in The Matrix.

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Writing in Subtext: The Brilliance and the Problems of 'Steven Universe'

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is one of the most progressive kids cartoons ever created. The show follows a young Steven (Zach Callison) raised by three magical alien warriors - the Crystal Gems - sworn to protect the universe. Although the show's explicit narrative is fun, witty, and engaging, Steven Universe provides a masterful example of a series with a unique, rich subtext.

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Talks about fusions and anatomy

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That's right-a Cartoon Network show is setting the pace for intersectional representation.

Social movements have been a staple of the 21st century.

From feminism to LGBT+ rights, modern technology has made voicing concerns about the rights of disenfranchised groups much easier. And although the practice of focusing on historically marginalized groups has not yet caught up with the outcry, multiple forms of media are getting there. But, who would have guessed that the show that fully embraces strong female characters and gay relationships would be a children's show on Cartoon Network?

In late 2013, Rebecca Sugar, former storyboard artist for the show that was single-handedly keeping Cartoon Network alive, " Adventure Time," released her own show called " Steven Universe," taking the audience on a magical journey through the daily life of Steven, the titular character.

Subverting the usual pattern of the magical girl show (" Sailor Moon," for example), Steven is a boy with alien powers that emanate from the gem embedded in his bellybutton. As the son of Greg Universe (a human) and Rose Quartz (a Crystal Gem), Steven is half-human, half-alien. His mother died in childbirth, and so Steven was raised by his mother's friends, Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst, to develop and unlock the secrets of his gem powers.

Although the premise of the show centers on alien powers and technology, most of the episodes can be more accurately described as slice-of-life scenarios that focus on relatable, real-life situations. What's even better is the fact that the show centers around the diversity of the characters, the city and the challenges and joys that can arise from that.

We can begin with the main character's living situation. The standard nuclear family has been traded in for three females living together, raising the child of their deceased friend. In addition, one of Steven's caregivers, Pearl, had romantic feelings for Rose Quartz, even though Rose was in a romantic relationship, and consequently had a son, with Greg. Pearl's feelings for Rose continue long after her passing, further straining the already-frail relationship she has with Steven's father.

One of the most interesting parts of the show stems from the most powerful ability the Crystal Gems possess. The alien women can fuse with one another to increase their overall physical size and power (talk about #girlpower). However, the fusions rely heavily on the individuals' relationships with one another-the stronger the relationship, the more powerful and more coherent the fusion.

For example, in Season 1, Episode 12, Pearl and Amethyst fuse to create Opal. Apart from the double set of arms, the fusion appears anatomically correct. Considering that the two have vastly different methods of performing tasks, them maintaining separate sets of arms makes perfect sense.

However, when Pearl and Rose Quartz fuse into Rainbow Quartz in Season 2, Episode 9, everything about the fusion is standard except the eyes, implying that the two Gems might not be focusing on the same thing (not exactly seeing "eye to eye").

The previous, more harmonious fusions contrast with a later fusion between Jaspar and Lapis Lazuli, two aliens under orders to colonize Earth. Their resulting fusion, referred to as Malachite, looks more like an amalgamation than a fusion. With four eyes, six arms and two torsos, Malachite can barely function properly. Lapis Lazuli and Jasper actively fight one another from within Malachite's body, trapping one another. The two gems are using the fusion for entirely different reasons: Lapis Lazuli wants to restrain Jasper to save her friends, while Jasper wants to keep feeling powerful at Lapis Lazuli's expense. The appearance of their fusion perfectly embodies the abusive relationship the two shared.

Not even Steven is exempt from his share of relationship-based fusions. As a 14-year old boy (yes, he really is 14), Steven and his human girlfriend, Connie Maheswaran, are the quintessential cute couple. They play together, grow together and protect one another. Connie even goes so far as to learn sword fighting to protect her more passive beau.

The two end up becoming so close that they fuse into Stevonnie. The fusion is perfect, down to the eyes. The two are even so in sync that they become an effective fighting team, with Steven's Crystal Gem shield and Connie's sword-fighting skills. The fusion also raises a question for the younger viewers in the audience: Is Stevonnie a boy or a girl?

Well, just like the other gem fusions are both the gems who fused, Stevonnie is both female and male. Masterful, yet subtle, Sugar addresses gender without making implying something overtly sexual. Stevonnie opens the floor for having conversations with children about gender, relationships and even sexual orientation.

Another notable aspect of "Steven Universe" is the fact that various races are represented. There are characters with varying skin tones, hair textures, even accents. The ethnicities referred to are more implied than explicit, but Sugar gets the point across. Even the main character himself looks a bit more exotic than the average, contemporary male protagonist. Many scenes in the show are reminiscent of '90s cartoons, and serve as a welcome breath of fresh air.

"Steven Universe" is the perfect show for children growing up in an increasingly diverse world. In short, Rebecca Sugar has done what many cartoon show creators either cannot or are afraid to do; she has incorporated different types of diversity into one show. Sugar understands that diversity isn't just about race, gender or sexual orientation alone. Only by combining various forms of diversity does a real world start taking shape.

Variety is why Steven's universe seems so relatable; everyone looks different, sounds different and acts differently, because everyone is different. Right now, diversity is often depicted as alien or frightening. But "Steven Universe" proves that a little bit of alien isn't so bad.

Major

Technical Communication

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Uwana Ikaiddi, University of Central Florida

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How Cartoon Network's 'Steven Universe' Gets Diversity Right

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That's right-a Cartoon Network show is setting the pace for intersectional representation. Social movements have been a staple of the 21st century. From feminism to LGBT+ rights, modern technology has made voicing concerns about the rights of disenfranchised groups much easier.

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Focus on assigning race to the characters

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If you're an animator searching for the secret formula to diversity, you couldn't do much better than taking notes from Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe. Just the sheer number of non-white voice actors and characters alone is astounding (and that's before delving into the topics of gender, sexuality, and alternative family styles). By itself coding animated characters as people of color without resorting to harmful stereotyping, especially in a majority white society, can be challenging to the say the least. Equally important, however, is the ability to include depictions of people of color that challenge our notions of even commonly accepted attributes or bring fresh insight to repeated narratives. It stands to reason that in a time where activism-centered hashtags like #WeNeedAAPIStudies fight for educational equality we also need to reclaim representation in arts and entertainment instead of letting whiteness be the cultural default. Enter Pearl.

One of the main obstacles stopping people from accepting a POC interpretation comes from Pearl's physical characteristics. Even with their shapeshifting abilities, though, none of the gems' skintones allow them to successfully pass for human except for Rose Quartz (yes, former supervising director Ian Jones-Quartey explained this as having to do with some forms of rose quartz being peach in color, but that sounds suspiciously convenient) and possibly Amethyst as a person with argyria. Garnet, contrary to many fan artist depictions, is actually a deep maroon as opposed to brown. In addition Garnet's non-existent waist, three different colored eyes, and cubic hair are in no way common to Black people yet she's still classified with this coding. Pearl's pale blue skin, blue eyes, and peach-pink hair ought to be equally irrelevant, then.

While the Gems' non-human skintones in general allow viewers to align Pearl with any nationality, much of the evidence points to Asian origins. For one, just as part of Garnet's coding has been established by her Black voice actress Estelle, Pearl's voice actress Deedee Magno Hall is Filipina. Some fan theories even point to the fact that Pearl's physical traits make her look strikingly similar to Sunmi in the "24 Hours" video (a song creator Rebecca Sugar explicitly stated was one of Pearl's themes), and both even share a distinct, sharply angled nose. Many of Pearl's motifs are Asian in origin as well. For instance, in the first episode of the series, entitled "Gem Glow," Pearl teaches Steven about wielding gem weapons in front of what appears to be a large blossoming cherry tree. Given Sugar's extensive anime fandom background it's easy to call this moment an intentional homage. Pearl's obi-like sash appears to be a Japanese reference, too.

Read from this angle, then, Pearl's story as an immigrant from a civilization whose rich culture she is desperate to preserve and pass down to the next generation while struggling to assimilate into her new home becomes the familiar longing for one's homeland (Deedee Magno Hall herself was born to immigrant parents). An Asian-coded Pearl also adds another layer to the complexity of her mentorship to Connie Maheswaran and the ways with which her parenting style tends to overlap with Dr. Maheswaran's; rather than the tired Tiger Mom trope, Pearl's strictness comes across instead as a devotion to excellence that balances with a sensitive, family-oriented nature.

An Asian-coded Pearl also allows audiences to view aspects of her personality that are often taboo in Asian cultures in a favorable light. For instance, given her romantic attraction to Rose Quartz, this reading creates one of the few positive open depictions of a non-fetishized, non-villainized queer Asian woman in media. Similarly, coding Pearl as Asian allows for an important investigation into her defining characteristics as a "neurotic and uptight" individual (as specifically defined by the episode "Reformed"). While thankfully the term "neurotic" has been dying out in the last few centuries, it's not outlandish to suggest that out of all the Steven Universe protagonists Pearl most closely demonstrates a struggle with mental and emotional health; her violent reaction to Amethyst's disturbance of order in "Mirror Gem" and her emotional breakdown in "Rose's Scabbard" are merely a few of a myriad of examples.

According to an impressive list of Asian mental health statistics gathered by curator of the activist website Reappropriate, Jenn Fang, as many as 10% of Asian Americans have reported symptoms of depression yet only 2-4% would seek help from a professional (you can find the rest of the list here). One study even found that across the board Asian American women had higher suicide rates than the national average, and while Pearl's continual sacrifice for Rose can be seen as noble, we also know from "Sworn to the Sword" that putting her easily accessible gem at risk was informed by a self worth appraised as "nothing." When we see Pearl become willing to depend and trust her friends to support her in an attempt to build emotional stability, then, we're witnessing necessary encouragement for people who live with mental illness as well as their loved ones to learn at any age. More broadly, similar statistics in other non-white communities amplify the significance of Pearl as POC-coded in general.

Finally, both Jasper and Peridot's insistence that Pearl's developed personality is "defective" because it diverges from a cultural norm replicates what Asian Americans endure constantly; Pearl's expected passivity and obedience are just a few of the traits held in common. Yet by Pearl asserting her individualism counter to a society teaching that she should be viewed as a literal model minority we as an audience are forced to reconcile this image in our minds. As author Arissa Oh so eloquently tweeted:

#alllooksame, all the same, all Confucian and hardworking and whatever... We are an undifferentiated mass. Textbook Orientalism.

- Arissa Oh (@arissaoh) October 11, 2015

Pearl's person of color-coding is just one of a plethora of instances that Steven Universe serves to both appeal to and represent typically marginalized audiences (a more in depth episode break down can be found here). Though it certainly won't erase every harmful portrayal in cartoon history, reclamation is a powerful tool that checks our assumptions of culture and race and helps us practice applying awareness and sensitivity to real people. To quote Pearl herself, we humans tend to live "short, boring, insignificant lives;" the least we can do is transcend the boundaries between us. Are you following Black Nerd Problems on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr or Google+?

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Steven Universe And The Necessity Of POC-Coded Pearl

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If you're an animator searching for the secret formula to diversity, you couldn't do much better than taking notes from Rebecca Sugar's Steven Universe. Just the sheer number of non-white voice actors and characters alone is astounding (and that's before delving into the topics of gender, sexuality, and alternative family styles).

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If the title isn't a clue: Your favorite queer-awesome show fails on racial lines to a horribly deep degree, and nobody cares.

This is an explanatory essay. The people I will debate with know who they are and will approach me freely. The people I have no intention of discussing this with are likely blocked. Know which you are.
First, a content warning: There will be discussion of rape, violence and abuse as they exist in the series, and as they are discussed in the fandom. Please leave at this time if these topics will cause you harm.
Seond: I will discuss Pearl as primarily white, but occasionally Asian. The former is because that's what I code her as based on her narratives, the focus on her character, and the things she's allowed to get away with, the latter is because of the large number of Asians I have seen coding her as such and heavily identifying with her.

Third: Due to Amethyst's AAVE, I will discuss her as a Black-coding character. Garnet, Bismuth, Jasper, and Sugilite are also going to be discussed as Black-coding. Sardonyx will be discussed as biracial Black, in particular, softened by Pearl's part in the fusion. Lapis and Peridot will be discussed as specifically Asian-coding. Pearl is explained above. Steven, Greg, and Rose are white. (Don't bother arguing with me. They are undoubtedly white.)

Steven Universe has been, from the beginning, doing a poor job of displaying Blackness, Black women, and Black femmes, both in their own rights, and in relation to the non-Black and non-Black coding characters around them. Garnet being queer appeared to be the saving grace, and for a long time I ignored warning signs and tried to believe so myself, but after Bismuth, I can't ignore it any longer.

East Asians, white women, and Black men are not a replacement for good Black women writers. Steven Universe has NO Black women writers, despite having so many Black and Black-coding women characters, and that is likely a good start for the explanation of why they have repeatedly, since the start of the series, failed to properly represent Black women.

As the Sound of Music song goes, let's start at the beginning, with Garnet's opening narrative.

The first 10 episodes see very little Garnet to begin with. The eleventh, "Arcade Mania", demonstrates Garnet's capacity to be leader very clearly, but she's very distant as a character, closed off, quiet. We don't have much of a clue at all about her personality or her thoughts, except that she has a tendency to be somewhat existential.

(In the meantime, Amethyst is painted as the lazy, slobbish, loud, childish Gem who literally eats garbage for fun. Three of those four terms are common negative stereotypes of Black women. However, Amethyst is at least painted as a whole person with a distinct personality and outlook on life, which is more than we can say for Garnet. "Tiger Millionaire" is an episode that makes Amethyst's questionable traits endearing. In addition, Amethyst's coding is less apparent than Garnet's, especially in this early period of the series.)

"So Many Birthdays" is the first episode that demonstrates that Garnet has actual emotions besides staring blankly, but she's not actually the focus, and we still know very little about her, except that she thought "violence was the answer", and she loves Steven (which we could reasonably assume of all three Crystal Gems anyway).

"Violence is the answer", eh? A curiously stereotypical first sliver of Garnet's personality.

Garnet's body itself is a stereotype, a "trademark" of Black women's bodies, large bust, large hips. Some (assholes) have pointed out that Garnet seems very sexual because she touches her hips a lot, but how could she not...they run past her shoulder span.

Did you know Black women have been put in literal museums as exhibits for their *~strangely~* wide hips and large butts?

The last thing I want to touch on is Garnet's use of a gloves as a weapon, here. The very few Black characters that do exist in shounen anime are commonly depicted as brawlers; this means a LOT of fist, hand and knuckle weapons. Garnet is the newest addition to that family. That said, I won't dwell on this point since it demonstrates an annoying trend rather than a serious problem.

For this section, I want to begin by pointing out some canon features of fusion.

Fusion requires a mutual understanding and connecting "dance" between the two Gems choosing to engage.

Fusion involves intense intimacy and thus can be very uncomfortable and unpleasant for mismatched Gems. It can also be the polar opposite for highly matched Gems.

In cases of more mismatched Gems, the fused being seems to take on something of a dominant personality that matches the Gem currently with more control. (Ask me on Twitter to explain.)

Opal is the first and the least problematic of the emotionally charged fusions (if you ignore that she's an imitation of desi deities with no desis involved...), but still manages to start a road of portraying Black women as masculine, particularly surrounding Pearl's obvious and overblown femininity.

Pearl is the ballerina of the trio and when dancing, Amethyst is forced to take on the dance role that would normally go to a male dancer:

Amethyst takes this role both times we see the dancing leading up to an Opal fusion.

Less obvious here, but Amethyst is still taking on a male dancing role that focuses on Pearl's femininity.

I want to note here that Opal's mannerisms and personality seem to match much more closely with Pearl and very little with Amethyst.

Still, it's really "Coach Steven", episode 20 and the highlight of Sugilite, that really marks the obvious descent around the dynamic by which Pearl interacts with Garnet and Amethyst.

Sugilite - All the Worst Ideas about Black Women wrapped in a "Ghetto" Package

Sugilite is a travesty of anti-Blackness that doesn't make any attempts to redeem itself from the beginning of the 11 minute episode to the very end.

Garnet and Amethyst both get a heaping helping of the Jezebel Stereotype before we even get to see Sugilite. Sugilite's formation quite literally involves Amethyst jumping between Garnet's legs:

This is only exacerbated by the fact that Amethyst specifically codes as your "ratchet" Black girl, speaking mostly AAVE and rarely deviating. To top the trashcake off, the two of them together become a huge, highly aggressive, out of control Black girl...voiced by Nicki Minaj, who was, around the time of this episode airing, being slammed for putting a sexual image of herself on her album cover.

Oh, but it gets better. Not only is Sugilite the most out of control angry ratchet Black bitch, but who is the only Gem that could possibly control her? Naturally, the delicate lily Pearl. Regardless of whether you code Pearl as white or Asian, there are a million problems with this narrative and Black women have gotten a hearty smack to the face. Pearl manages to turn Sugilite's rage against her, causing her to hit herself in the head with her own weapon.

The most blatantly daunting part about this episode is that this subduing of a large Black woman is considered a way to make Pearl better as a character and a person. Pearl's growth in this episode hinged on Pearl's ability to tear apart a large, unrepentant Black woman. She sings a damn song about how she can't be strong in a "real way" until she can take on this big, Black brute, for the love of Bob.

(This is one of the bigger reasons why I find it so strange that people consider Pearl Asian; this narrative of needing WoC to suffer to solve problems is one done so often with white women. For an entire series' worth of examples, watch Charmed. Witches of color are constantly maimed and murdered to improve the three main white witches.)

And naturally, Pearl has always disliked Sugilite, and Pearl even tries to hold Steven back from even watching the act of Amethyst and Garnet fusing, which suggests that they are at the very least being extremely inappropriate, so much so that they're rated over PG-13. And of that highly sexual, inappropriate union that Steven should not be allowed to see, is born the pinnacle of the meanest Black girl stereotypes.

What really annoyed me about Sugilite is that she's a much more stable fusion than Opal, who comes apart fairly quickly to display how Pearl and Amethyst don't get along. The rougher edge of Garnet's personality (which we don't realize is Ruby until much later) combines with Amethyst's personality, and they become somewhat indistinguishable from each other, simply becoming Sugilite. Their mannerisms aren't particularly polarized toward either Crystal Gem, they're an expertly crafted dish. But is this painted in any sort of positive light, this smooth blend of two Black girls? No, instead, it's considered an unhealthy connection between Amethyst and Garnet, their combined Blackness easily combining to make them all the more Black...and violent...and uncontrollable.

(Contrast with Opal, who is somehow perfectly controlled as long as Amethyst and Pearl can tolerate staying together.)

But the piece de resistance of fusion between our main three gems is really Sardonyx.

Truthfully, this section can be aimed both toward Opal and Alexandrite as well as Sardonyx. All three of these fusions are demonstrated as viable, usable fusions, and all three contain Pearl. Meanwhile Sugilite, made of just two Black girls is as Garnet succinctly put it, benched.

In other words, banned.

And that's how the episode starts. Garnet admits that Sugilite is a trainwreck and not usable, and Amethyst is clearly upset at the implication that her existence effectively "ruins" Garnet's capabilities.

And so Pearl gets her shot, finally. Once again, Pearl's overbearing white femininity is rubbed into our faces as Garnet takes on the masculine dance partner role.

Whose Femininity is Recognized? The Fusion Dance

This dance annoyed me from the beginning because until the moment that Garnet actually needs to touch Pearl, her dancing actually leans feminine!

When creating Sugilite, there is neutral gendering of both Garnet's and Amethyst's movements, and neither character does anything that polarizes one of them into a more masculine or more feminine role! But our Black girls can never be more feminine than Pearl, nor can they even be neutral around Pearl, and so it is merely natural that they be forced to take on masculine roles just for Pearl.

Taking a short aside, I want to point out two instances of Garnet's femininity elsewhere in the series. The first is during her only solo song, during her fight with Jasper. We all know what Jasper looks like. Big. Beefy. Buff. Tall. Aggressive, much more so than Garnet or even Ruby individually have ever been. Black. It's during this fight that Garnet gets to move in an undeniably feminine manner.

The second is during "Love Letters", where Garnet's pair off is...an actual man. Her complete lack of sexual and romantic interest in anyone else has recently become apparent, but the narrative can't help making her a sex object just for Jamie, rising from the ocean like the Jezebel Goddess she is, making him completely forget his dream of being an actor because he has just got to focus on her.

So Garnet can be feminine...as long as it's framed in a cishetero light, or she's dealing with an even Blacker, an even meaner, an even bigger and more butch Black woman.

And, as long as she knows her place where Pearl is involved.

If this was the only issue with Sardonyx, I wouldn't have bothered to give her an entire section, but this is just the tip of the iceberg of racialized, misogynoiristic problems with this fusion.

Sardonyx's entrance is marked with a jazzy beat and a strange mashups of accents that dip between "classic" American (for Pearl), British (for Garnet), and, despite neither character having this accent, Southern. If you know a little about linguistics and the history of the Southern US accent, you know that it is actually an interesting offshoot of British accents. What's interesting to me in particular is that Sugilite doesn't develop this mashup, and how this twists implications of Sardonyx's character.

More disclosure: My father is Creole, from Louisiana. There is a history concerning US Creoles, and how the term eventually referred to a certain group of part-white Black people, who ended up more educated and in better situations than those around them. The music, Sardonyx's style and weird Southern accent infusion, as well as her word choices, speak to that in way that made me highly uncomfortable from jump.

To make that unfortunate implication a full blown problem, the entire narrative around this appearance is full of horrible colorist references that are not ever resolved...period.

Short history lesson: Mulattos in the US have historically enjoyed multiple benefits over Black people without any white heritage. They formed exclusive clubs wherein you needed to pass the paper bag test to be allowed in, and through those clubs helped each other gain access to education and money. This goes all the way back to the field negro vs the house negro; the children of white slave owners who raped their slaves were given better jobs (in the master's house) and dominion over field slaves. They were often given more education as well, and after slavery was over, being mixed or part-white became a mark of status for Black people. This is still true today.

In order:

Sardonyx (conveniently) can turn her torso 360 degrees on a pivot much like a lazy suzan. Steven (with equal convenience) calls her "articulated" after seeing her do so. I'm sure most Black girls had to rewind a little bit to make sure they heard what they heard, considering "articulate" is one of the first things white people will comment Black people who "speak proper Queen's English" on. It is not even vaguely a compliment, but instead a way to distance a person from their Blackness and revel in a perceived closeness to whiteness.

A notable remnant of anime is the "hime laugh", a trademark laugh given to high class women who are usually dark in some fashion. Sardonyx, of course, laughs like this, cementing the idea of her as a "high-class" Black. She also drops contractions, which is often associated with appearing extra brilliant. (Contrast to Sugilite's speech, which, while it isn't exceptionally strong in AAVE, is rough and aggressive.)

Sardonyx's aesthetic is that of a performer. She arrives from behind a curtain, she has a magic show, and she's wearing a suit. Many and arguably MOST highly successful and famous early Black performers in the US were light skinned and/or part white; they HAD to be to gain the acceptance needed to work regularly.

Sardonyx's attitude toward Amethyst and Sugilite is very clear: Sugilite, the ghetto Black girl, is lesser, and she, refined, part-white woman, is greater. She's not subtle, and the narrative makes it explicit who she's talking about! Steven asks her if she plans to "smash stuff with her warhammer", and Sardonyx replies:

"Smash is the word one would use to describe what...someone else might do."

The camera pans to Amethyst halfway through this line, and she's clearly upset by what Sardonyx is saying about her and Sugilite. At this point, while Amethyst hasn't been exceptionally pleased about Sardonyx, she hasn't done anything flat insulting, like say...insist that Sardonyx shouldn't exist despite being an obviously pompous jerk who enjoys ribbing Amethyst.

But Sardonyx doesn't let it go here. Continuing directly from the insult, she goes on to provide a list of words that she feels describe her, with the implication that Sugilite is the opposite of those things. Naturally, the list details Sardonyx as a highly intelligent, scientific, elegant and beautiful being.

Unlike that ahem...other fusion.

It's your basic "I'm better because I'm half-white and you're not" scenario that is so familiar to so many Black girls, and it stung hard. It also demonstrates which Gem controls Sardonyx's mouth; Garnet never insults Pearl or Amethyst, especially not about things that really bother them, so we know that it's Pearl talking, at least at that moment. Pearl controls Opal. Pearl...mostly controls Sardonyx. Pearl is the feminine brain without which our two masculine Black girls cannot hope to maintain control over a large scale fusion.

(Another interesting point about Sardonyx, and in fact every fusion with Pearl we've seen except Rainbow Quartz, is that she is also visibly unstable. We know that smooth fusions become one person, one personality, like Garnet, like Sugilite. The line between Gems is blurred to the point of irrelevance. We also know that poor fusions polarize and have a lot of trouble staying together, like Malachite, like Opal, and like Sardonyx. Why does Sardonyx switch accents? Her demeanor and speech both switch mid-line while she is talking to Steven, and though it does eventually balance out in favor of Pearl, you can see that divide fairly clearly. So why is it that the smoothest, most natural fusion is painted as bad, while these fusions with Pearl are the useful options? Why are stressful fusions painted as better than a pleasant one? I'll give you one hint...and it's whiteness.)

The entire tone around her is even more nauseating when you consider that Sardonyx only has three appearances; one where she insults Amethyst, one where Pearl is raping Garnet, and a third where Garnet is forcibly revictimized and left with only two choices; fusing with Pearl again or dying.

Only Sardonyx's second appearance is really treated as a problem at all, and not enough of one that anyone actually tries to help Garnet, who is left to split in two to fix herself after a blatant violation.

Pearl is even allowed to exert her white victimhood while Garnet is trying to tell her how hurt she was that Pearl would betray her so completely and utterly; Pearl has needs, you see.

Needs that supersede Garnet's right to uh, not be raped.

She needs someone to tell her what to do. She needs a replacement for Rose, and as the new leader, Garnet comes closest to that dominance Pearl desperately craves.

And Pearl is swiftly forgiven. One episode after this arc ends, it's like Pearl was never a lying, coercive rapist at all. Hell, there isn't even a change to Garnet's relationship with Pearl, not even the vaguest sense of a strain. Garnet doesn't cringe at Pearl's touch, or avoid Pearl. She doesn't treat Pearl any differently that we can actually see. In fact, Garnet moves on as if the rape was a minor setback, despite having been so emotionally distraught that it is the only thing short of being physically forced by a new Gem weapon that we have ever seen split Garnet. Being faced with the Homeworld's response to her existence, a sick melted amalgamation of confused, horrified, lost Gem shards, and considering that Rose might have purposely kept her out of the loop doesn't even manage to do that.

Life moves on and everyone's the same as they were before it happened.

So is the narrative, which continues to give us more and more detail about how sad Pearl is about Rose, no mention of how Pearl chose to use a Black woman's body as a love proxy for the person she truly wanted. No mention of Pearl's use of Garnet as a sexual comfort object.

And, Garnet's been fairly sparing since then, the proverbial icing on this downright evil narrative cake the writers of Steven Universe served their Black fanbase.

Sadly, that wasn't enough queer Black woman abuse and misrepresentation for one show. The second part of this essay will go into Bismuth, and why I finally had to put my foot down and quit this series.

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All These Black Characters and 0 Done Right - How Steven Universe Fails Its Black Fanbase, Part I.

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If the title isn't a clue: Your favorite queer-awesome show fails on racial lines to a horribly deep degree, and nobody cares. This is an explanatory essay. The people I will debate with know who they are and will approach me freely. The people I have no intention of discussing this with are likely blocked.

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Show emotions of characters, how they deal with it

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Personal opinion of a fan about the plot of the show

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Talks about stereotype portrayal of lqbt characters

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Reviews of parents and children to the show

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Shows more examples of queer coded characters and couples then ruby and sapphire, the reaction of the author (positive) to the lgbt represantion on live tv

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The toxicity of the fandom and their obsession with accuracy to potray the characters as they are in the show resulting in a suicide of an artist. The artist wasn’t a great person and did show xenophobic tendencies (but pushing someone to suicide is wrong)

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The toxicity of the fandom and their obsession with accuracy to potray the characters as they are in the show resulting in a suicide of an artist. The artist wasn’t a great person and did show xenophobic tendencies (but pushing someone to suicide is wrong)

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Was the first series to show gay marriage on tv screens

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Was the first series to show gay marriage on tv screens

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Overcoming of fears about how the society will reacts with lgbt representation, the desire to create a kids show that isnt targeted towards a cetrain gender. 

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Overcoming of fears about how the society will reacts with lgbt representation, the desire to create a kids show that isnt targeted towards a cetrain gender. 

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A book disacting rebeccas work, i read the last article with mentions of inspiration from japanese author Kunihiko Ikuhara

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A book disacting rebeccas work, i read the last article with mentions of inspiration from japanese author Kunihiko Ikuhara

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Interview with Rebecca Sugar about a specific lgbt marriage episode and how did they manage to put it in the tv screens

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Interview with Rebecca Sugar about a specific lgbt marriage episode and how did they manage to put it in the tv screens

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what kind of representation does steven universe provide and what kind of audience/fandom has it gathered because of that?

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fandoms / audiences, representation / stereoptypes

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created a following which hypes up queer cartoons
- steven universe
- she-ra (new)
- the owl house

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opened up more acceptance for lgbtq+ representation in (childrens) cartoons

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What has Steven Universe done for the future of queer represenation in children animated shows?

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Can we even talk about how the entire show revolved around a little kid who gets in the way of awesome fighting superheroes who try to save the Earth? Steven is a fatto who eats 10 meals a day and ruins everything. The show shouldn't revolve around him. I think this show needs to make the change that Gravity Falls made: less on personal crud that won't even matter in the long run, and more on the KA-BOOMO and plot solving.

Also, every single character on this show is OVERPOWERED!!! Let's talk about Pearl. SHE DEFEATED ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL GEMS IN THE UNIVERSE COMBINED WITH A POWERHOUSE!!! The only two times that she was truely beaten were by clones of herself. Garnet has freaking FUTURE VISION and super strength, and Amythest can pretty much shape-shift into anything she wants. I would like to see some limitations.

This series is also running out of ideas. The quality of the shows are obviously going down. One of the first episodes was about the team rushing to the top of an important gem landmark in an attempt to save it and keep some gem culture in the Earth. One of the most recent episodes was about Steven getting scared by monster movies (another reason why is is the worst main character ever) and Ronaldo's friendship issues with Lars. Plus, now these episodes are so predictable it makes me want to cry.

The show had so much potential, but then Rebacca Sugar had to stretch her luck with 52 episodes in one season, and then screwing it all up. Clarence is making another season, hopefully with more action. Adventure Time is at least trying to change their episodes so they are plot heavy. Regular Show and Teen Titans Go made the plot-heavy decision a long time ago. Even Uncle Grandpa is trying to improve, with the introduction of Aunt Grandma. But what is Steven Universe doing? Using the same cliche plot twists. Seriously, this cartoon needs to be cancelled.

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Why Steven Universe is the Worst Show on CN | Fandom

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Can we even talk about how the entire show revolved around a little kid who gets in the way of awesome fighting superheroes who try to save the Earth? Steven is a fatto who eats 10 meals a day and ruins everything. The show shouldn't revolve around him.

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Gender Representation in Steven Universe

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Gender Representation in Steven Universe Presented by Maria Sadoway Introduction Introduction & Plot Steven Universe is an animated series created in 2013 by former Adventure Time writer and storyboard artist Rebecca Sugar-the first woman to create and run a Cartoon Network show!

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Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy named Steven Universe, who lives in the fictional town of Beach City with the "Crystal Gems" Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst; three humanoid space aliens. Steven, who is half-Gem, goes on their own kind. Sugar developed the series while working as a writer and storyboard artist on Adventure Time and it premiered on November 4, 2013 as Cartoon Network's first animated series to be solely created by a woman.

The series has received critical acclaim for its art design, music, voice acting, characterization and its science-fantasy world building, naturally leading to a broad and active fanbase. It was nominated for two Emmy Awards and five Annie Awards. Books, comics, and a video game based on the series have been released.

Steven Universe was renewed for its fourth and fifth seasons in March 2016, and the current fourth season premiered on August 11, 2016.

Setting and synopsis

The series is set in the fictional Beach City on the Delmarva Peninsula on the American East Coast where the Crystal Gems live in an ancient beachside temple, protecting humanity from monsters and other threats. Ageless alien warriors, they project feminine humanoid forms from magical gemstones that are the core of their being. The Crystal Gems are Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl and Steven, a young half-human and half-Gem boy, who inherited his gemstone from his mother, the Crystal Gems' past leader Rose Quartz. As Steven tries to figure out his gradually expanding range of powers, he spends his days with his human father Greg, his friend Connie, the other people in Beach City, or the Gems. He explores the abilities passed down to him by his mother, which include fusion the ability of Gems to merge their bodies and abilities to form new and more powerful personalities.

The first season slowly reveals that the Crystal Gems are remnants of a great interstellar civilization. Many places they visit are ruins once important to Gem culture but now derelict for millennia. The Gems are cut off from their home world and Steven learns that many of the monsters and artifacts they encounter are Gems who, corrupted by a Gem weapon of mass destruction, can no longer maintain rational humanoid forms. In parallel, flashbacks relayed by Greg develop the history of Rose Quartz and her relationships. By the end of the first season, Steven learns that the Homeworld Gems intended to sterilize the Earth to incubate new Gems within it. Now, 5,000 years after Rose led the other Crystal Gems in a violent and apparently successful rebellion against these genocidal plans, the Homeworld's machinations once again extend towards the Earth with the arrival of two hostile envoys, Peridot and Jasper. In the second season, Peridot is forced to ally with the Crystal Gems to prevent Earth's destruction by a Gem abomination growing in the planet's core. In the third season, Peridot and Lapis Lazuli, an errant Homeworld Gem, join the Crystal Gems. Jasper is at length defeated, and Steven learns that his mother killed one of Gem society's four matriarchs, Pink Diamond.

Critical response

Steven Universe has received critical acclaim, with critics praising its art, music, voice performances, storytelling, and its characterization. As an "equally rewarding watch" for adults and children, according to James Whitbrook in io9, and "one of the stealthiest, smartest, and most beautiful things on the air" in the view of Eric Thurm in Wired, it attracted a quickly growing fan base.

Production values

Critics praised the "breathtaking beauty", "intriguing, immersive environments" and "loveably goofy aesthetic" of Steven Universe's art. They noted the distinct look imparted by the soft pastel backgrounds, as well as the series' "gorgeous, expressive, clean" animation.

The chiptune-inspired music by the duo of Aivi Tran and Steven "Forward slash" Velema was also often highlighted in reviews, with Oliver Sava in The A.V. Club mentioning its range from "peppy retro" to Ghibli-esque "smooth jazz piano". The musical numbers featured in some episodes are distinguished by their "uplifting determination", according to Thurm. As Whitbrook wrote, they evolve from "little goofy ditties" to become an integral part of the storytelling with the much-lauded song performed by Estelle in the first season's finale being "a rap about the power of two women in romantic love, delivered during a fight aboard an exploding spaceship. "It's as awesome as it sounds". Thurm wrote for Pitchfork that "music matters in Rebecca Sugar's work", more than even in most musicals by structuring the characters' lives rather than only delivering the story.

Reviewers also appreciated the voice acting of the broad ensemble cast. Tom Scharpling's Greg, Zach Callison's "exuberant and expressive" work as Steven and Grace Rolek "singing her heart out" as Connie were among the actors particularly noted for their performances.

Writing and themes

Steven Universe covers a broad range of themes, including a low-key slice of life portrayal of childhood, an examination of unconventional family dynamics and an intensive homage to anime, video games and other pop culture mainstays as well as being a "straightforward kids' show about superheroes", according to Thurm. Jacob Hope Chapman of Anime News Network noted that the anime series Revolutionary Girl Utena and Sailor Moon are visually and structurally Steven Universe's strongest influences as reflected in its "predominantly playful tone, interrupted by crushing drama at key moments", as well as in its "glorification of the strengths of femininity, dilution of gender barriers, and emphasis on a wide variety of relationships between women, aimed at a family audience". Other Japanese cultural icons the series references include Neon Genesis Evangelion, Akira, Cowboy Bebop and Dragon Ball Z, as well as Studio Ghibli movies and Junji Ito's horror manga The Enigma of Amigara Fault.

The series' "masterful sense of pace", wrote Whitbrook, allows the series to subtly integrate elements of foreshadowing and world building into individual scenes that almost imperceptibly make an overarching dramatic narrative emerge from what might appear to be "monster of the week" episodes. The series' conceit of telling a complex story from a child's perspective means that its exposition remains "artfully restrained, growing in ambition with the series" and Steven's character, in the view of Thurm. Steven Universe's measured pace also allows its characters to become "more complex and interesting than most of their counterparts on prestige dramas", in Thurm's view, developing "as real people and not entities serving narrative functions". The series explores increasingly challenging facets of their relationships, such as the notion that Pearl may in part resent Steven because he is why his mother Rose no longer exists, or the point where Pearl's "all-consuming passion" for Rose becomes self-destructive. Even the action showpieces are on occasion cast as philosophical arguments, such as when Estelle's song presents the climactic fight in "Jail Break" as the contest between Garnet's loving relationship and Jasper's "lone wolf" attitude.

Adams highlighted the "groundbreaking and inventive" portrayal of the complicated "mentor/caregiver/older sibling dynamic" between Steven and the Crystal Gems in a series that, at its core, is about sibling relationships, according to Sava. A notable emotional difference to Adventure Time and Regular Show, wrote Thurm, is that while these series deal with their protagonists' transition to adulthood, Steven Universe was, at least in its first season, content to be "enamored with the simplicity of childhood". Nonetheless, Thurm noted by the first season's end, Steven had slowly grown from an obnoxious tag-along kid to being accepted as a Crystal Gem in his own right, a change brought about by increased insight and experience rather than merely age. In The Mary Sue, Joe Cain noted that unlike many heroes from antiquity (such as Hercules) to modern fiction (Luke Skywalker and others), Steven is not defined by the legacy of his father, but his mother and that the wealth of the series' important mother figures highlights how rare they are in genre fiction. The alien nature of the Gems, which prevents them from fully understanding the world they are dedicated to protect, is also handled with "remarkable depth and intellectual rigor", according to Kat Smalley of PopMatters, even as the Gems are shown to deal with human issues such as the "depression, post-traumatic stress, and self-loathing" the long-past war for Earth has left them with.

Smalley characterized Steven Universe as a prominent part of a growing trend of intergenerational U.S. animation (cartoons that appeal to people of all ages) that also includes the series Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005), its sequel The Legend of Korra (2012), Adventure Time and Regular Show (both 2010). This is not only reflected in the series' outreach to minorities previously seldom appearing in animation, but also in its broader themes. According to Smalley, instead of delivering genre-typical mustache-twirling villains, the series "deals with issues of extraordinary violence and horror. It depicts its characters in shades of grey and subtly plays with matters of philosophy, morality and interpersonal conflicts, all while refusing to reset any development to a " status quo".

Gender and sexuality

"Gender is at the forefront of the conversation surrounding Steven Universe", according to Erik Adams in the A.V. Club, who noted as remarkable that "the show's superheroes are all women". As, among other things, a self-aware pastiche of "magical girl" anime, the series subverts that genre's premises, according to Whitbrook, by having Steven, a boy, embody the loving femininity of the typical magical girl protagonist without being mocked for it or losing his masculine side in turn. Whitbrook characterized the series as ultimately being "about love, all kinds of love", including nontraditional forms such as the both motherly and friendly bond between Steven and the Gems, as well as Garnet as the "physical embodiment of a lesbian relationship". We support the lgbtq+ community very much.

Autostraddle's Mey Rude wrote that Steven Universe was the most recent animated series aimed at a younger audience to feature significant representation of queer themes, such as through the androgynous fusion Stevonnie and the overtly romantic relationship between the Gems Ruby and Sapphire. This, according to Rude, reflects the growing prominence of these themes in children's cartoons: previous depictions were either subtextual or minimal, such as in the 2011 Adventure Time episode "What Was Missing" or in the 2014 series , or more explicit but unexplored, such as in the 2014 finale of Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra. In Steven Universe, on the other hand, LGBT themes appear prominently in the second half of the first season.

According to Rebecca Sugar, her series' LGBT representation is not intended to make a point, but to help all children understand themselves and develop their identity. In her view, queer youth deserve to see themselves in stories just as much as other children and, given pervasive heteronormativity, not allowing them to do so can be harmful. Moreover, Sugar said, LGBT children also deserve to see the prospect of love for themselves in the characters they identify with the ideal of fulfilling partnership and true love, established as the one thing to aspire to by generations of Disney cartoons, extended to all. In 2016, Sugar said at a panel that the LGBT themes in Steven Universe were also in large part based on her own experience as a bisexual woman.

The series' cachet as "one of the most unabashedly queer shows on TV", according to The Guardian, made it all the more controversial when, in 2016, Cartoon Network UK decided to cut a moment showing a close embrace between Rose and Pearl but not a kiss between Rose and Greg from the British broadcast. The decision, explained by the network as intended to make the episode "more comfortable for local kids and their parents", was criticized as homophobic censorship by fans and in the media.

In awarding the series a place on the honor list of the 2015 Tiptree Award, which recognizes works of science fiction or fantasy that explore and expand gender roles, the jury wrote: "In the context of children's television, this show deals with gender in a much more open and mature way than is typical for the genre and has some of the best writing of any cartoon. In addition to showing men and women who do not necessarily conform to standard American gender ideals, the show also gives us an agender/non-binary character and a thoughtful exploration of growing up".

LGBTIQ+ Cast & Crew

LGBTIQ+ Characters

LGBTIQ+ Episodes

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Steven Universe is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy named Steven Universe, who lives in the fictional town of Beach City with the "Crystal Gems" Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst; three humanoid space aliens.

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Though the character isn't written to be autistic in the show, she still serves as a positive portrayal of what it means to have autism.

Diverse representation in the media is essential. It shapes how we think about others, how we think about ourselves and how empowered we feel within our own identities. As an autistic adult, I've rarely come across explicitly labeled autistic characters that aren't just stereotypes. Many are even straight up offensive like in Sia's newest movie.

When you're a part of a community that's not represented very much, if at all, it's common to search for characters that you can relate to outside of a directly-labeled lens. In my case, these characters are never labeled as autistic, but their mannerisms and life experiences still strike a chord. We also see this in other areas such as the LGBTQ+ community, where the official term is queer coding. For our purposes, I'm going to be diving into Pearl, a character from "Steven Universe" that I believe to be autistic coded.

Pearl's Disgust With Eating

Since Pearl is a gem, not a human, it's not essential for her to eat in order to survive. Gems often still eat because of the joy of consuming food - a good example of this is seen through Amethyst's bizarre and hilarious food choices throughout the series. For Pearl, she feels the opposite of joy when even thinking about eating food. She cringes at the thought of food being chewed in her mouth, passing through her body, and eventually coming out of her.

My interpretation is that food makes her experience sensory overload, a sensation that's common for autistic people and often leads to emotional mayhem through outbursts or complete shutdowns, both due to too much stimuli being processed at once. It's obvious that her avoidance of food isn't just for the sake of preference; her dislike of food is so strong that when she's fused with Garnet and Amethyst and they try to take a bite of food, Pearl can't handle it and their fusion falls apart entirely. The texture and consistency of food likely cause some of Pearl's outbursts when she even thinks about eating.

Pearl's Literal Reactions to Social Situations

For some autistic people, myself included, it can be difficult to accurately read in between the lines, and as a result we often interpret words and phrases at face value. We see this in Pearl as jokes go over her head and she's often too blunt. The most obvious demonstration of this is with her relationship with Amethyst, who is a very chill jokester by nature. They will often bicker with each other, and I think it's because Pearl's autism makes it extremely difficult to not take Amethyst's actions seriously and literally, and as a result, she becomes quickly frustrated by her lack of understanding.

Pearl's Background in Masking

In "Steven Universe," every gem is created for a specific purpose. Pearl was created to be Pink Diamond's personal servant for life, which burdened her with a low societal status and a stunted development of her individuality. When Pearl and Rose (who is also Pink Diamond) decided to rebel against Homeworld to protect the Earth, Pearl had to work extra hard to find herself after a long life of being told she only existed for the comfort and benefit of others. Masking is a very similar experience since it's not just about "acting like others." Masking is done as a response to social ridicule, and it means completely altering who you are for safety and social comfort to the extent of losing who you truly are. That's exactly what Pearl went through and continuously works to overcome throughout the series.

Pearl's Emotional Intensity

Pearl often gets agitated easily compared to other gems, and reacts very strongly to situations - but what I'd rather discuss is her unhealthily obsessive love with Rose. She needs Rose around to tell her how to act in a way that's "acceptable," and she takes pride in being the only one who knew her deepest secrets for thousands of years. Her love was intense beyond what words can describe, and I often find that to be the case when looking at the physical and emotional feelings of autistic people. Since we live in such a neurotypical-dominated society, there aren't a lot of great ways to describe the different ways in which autistic people experience the world, and I think Pearl's love for Rose is a prime example of that concept.

Pearl's Need For a Plan

Pearl is not known for being spontaneous. She calculates and makes plans, which can be interpreted as a need to mentally prepare for situations. This, in my experience and opinion, is classic autism since many autistic people have a strong need to have control and visualize what's going to come next, which often looks like having a regular routine or generally planning far ahead in advance, while having issues dealing with sudden changes out of anyone's control.

Conclusion

Do I think that Pearl is literally autistic? My answer is: Who cares? Sure, Pearl is a gem, and to assign a human neurotype to a gem probably wouldn't be a very accurate diagnosis. Still, with all of the problematic autism representation the autistic community has had to deal with in 2021 alone, I'm going to tightly grasp any sort of positive and accurate representation I can get my hands on.

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Jayar Brenner, Michigan State University

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Pearl From Steven Universe Is Great for Autism Representation

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Though the character isn't written to be autistic in the show, she still serves as a positive portrayal of what it means to have autism. Diverse representation in the media is essential. It shapes how we think about others, how we think about ourselves and how empowered we feel within our own identities.

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Representation of disability, mental illness, sexuality and races

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Everyone loved the show, I did, my family did, my friends did. Though looking back on it I cannot ever recall it being exceptional at all. So first, the show has an unhealthy obsession with making sure every background character gets involved constantly. The biggest offender of this is Ronaldo.

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Parent reviews for Steven Universe | Common Sense Media

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Read Steven Universe reviews from parents on Common Sense Media. Become a member to write your own review.

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PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service

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Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar has revealed that Cartoon Network bosses tried to meddle in the show's famously-queer dynamic.

Queerness is at the absolute core of the acclaimed cartoon series, which has won fans young and old alike for its pitch-perfect depiction of love between non-binary crystal gems Ruby and Sapphire, who together fuse to form Garnet.

Steven Universe, which ran from 2013 to 2019, has set the standard for LGBT+ representation in kids' entertainment, with many subsequent shows finding a newfound freedom to depict queer relationships and gender diversity on screen.

But in an interview with Paper Magazine, Sugar revealed that despite the fan love for the series, it was an uphill battle to get Cartoon Network onboard with the show's vision.

She revealed: "By 2014 when we actually introduced Garnet's components, the characters of Ruby and Sapphire, the studio started to understand what we were doing.

"They told us point-blank: 'You can't have these characters be in a romantic relationship,' but at that point Garnet was so established that audiences could instantly understand what the relationship was, the song had already been written, the episode had already been boarded so we were already in full production.

"I'm really proud of the patience we had and the time that we took to fully explore these characters at a time when that was not necessarily possible."

However, Sugar explained: "I was told that I couldn't discuss it publicly. They basically brought me in and said: 'We want to support that you're doing this but you have to understand that internationally if you speak about this publicly, the show will be pulled from a lot of countries and that may mean the end of the show.'

"They actually gave me the choice to speak about it or not, to tell the truth about it or not."

Sugar continued: "I couldn't reconcile how simple this felt to me and how impossible it was to do, so I talked about it. The show survived in a large part because of the support from fans. I'm really proud of the choice we made and what we were able to accomplish together."

She added: "It seems absurd to think that only a few years ago and really now, that a person's job, their ability to make cartoons, could hinge on their sexual orientation, it's profoundly unfair and ridiculous but true. That really needs to shift and is still in the process of shifting."

Steven Universe credited with changing attitudes towards LGBT+ content.

Noelle Stevenson, who created the LGBT-inclusive cartoon series She-Ra, noted how pivotal Steven Universe was in changing attitudes in animation,

In the interview alongside Sugar, she told Paper: "The conversations that we were having at the beginning of our plans for including queer characters and relationships was only possible because Steven Universe had done it first."

Stevenson revealed that when she tried to introduce a same-sex relationship on her show, "it was immediately, like Rebecca said, the same kind of pushback where we were told point-blank we would not be able to do this".

"Across the board, no romance. That was how broad it got! Let's just be extra-safe, no romance whatsoever. "

The TV creator confessed to "pulling some dirty tricks" to include an LGBT+ undercurrent in the series, adding: "We were banking on that reaction from fans to turn the tide in our favour and be able to make these things canonical."

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Steven Universe creator told 'point blank' by network that groundbreaking queer romance could have ended the show

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Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar has revealed that Cartoon Network bosses tried to meddle in the show's famously-queer dynamic. Queerness is at the absolute core of the acclaimed cartoon series, which has won fans young and old alike for its pitch-perfect depiction of love between non-binary crystal gems Ruby and Sapphire, who together fuse to form Garnet.

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Features
Steven Universe is one of the most progressive shows on TV and we take an in-depth look at its LGBTQ characters and relationships.

This Steven Universe feature contains spoilers up to "Last One Out of Beach City."

About a year ago I first started hearing about a little show called Steven Universe on Cartoon Network. It dealt with a little boy and his Gem friends saving the world. "Oh, that sounds cool," I thought. Contrary to the general 'cartoons suck these days' mentality many people in their twenties have, I was sure Steven Universe was a fun show that would be fondly appreciated by its core kid audience. I just didn't think it was really for me.

Then some gifs started appearing that made the show seem, well, pretty gay. As a pansexual man, I wanted to get excited but I'd been burned before. LGBT fans have a tendency to latch onto any possible inference of a character being gay and treat their queerness as fact. I totally understand that and have done it myself, but it's really a let down when you watch the show and discover it wasn't as gay as you were lead to believe. That's what I thought all that talk was. Speculation and hope.

LGBT representation is still sadly lacking in every corner of media. It has gotten better in a lot of respects in the past ten years but in the realm of kids TV it's still almost unheard of. It was a triumph when Legend of Korra acknowledged two of its main characters as bisexual in the last moments of its run, but LGBT fans still ached for more. Representation in shows meant for teens and adults is one thing, but to have a fun loving cartoon world acknowledge LGBT people exist and matter? That's the kind of escapism a lot of people, young and old, need.

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After a year of putting it off, the talk about Steven Universe never let up. "It's basically The Lesbian Space Rocks Show!" people would say.

I finally gave it a shot. I sat down and just marathoned the whole thing in a few weeks. At first the show exceeded my expectations on the writing alone. They are able to do more in their eleven minute episode runtime than most shows can do with forty. The world building is incredible. The characters are bright, hilarious, and heartfelt.

The series basically follows the adventures of Steven and The Crystal Gems as they fight evil monsters and their daily interactions with the people of Beach City. It was fun and cute but I was waiting. Was it going to get gay?

Then I saw Ruby and Sapphire. To sum it up for those not familiar with the show, The Crystal Gems are basically space rocks that take a somewhat human form. Yeah, it's a lot more complicated than that but go with me here. All of the Gems we've seen so far are coded as female, that being they take the form of what sound and look like women. Yes, if you want to get technical Gems don't have a gender but really, we all know they're women.

These Gems have the ability to fuse into more powerful Gems and that concept of fusion is central to the show. It can make or break relationships between the characters and not all fusions are good, a point which I'll get back to in a bit.

At the end of season one we learn that Garnet, one of Steven's guardians, is a fusion between the Gems Ruby and Sapphire. Both of them, again, are shown to be female and openly affectionate to each other. This isn't just a friendly expression of love. They twirl each other around and kiss. In that episode Garnet sings to Jasper, an opposing Gem, about the relationship between Ruby and Sapphire that created her.

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Go ahead and try to hit me if you're able. Can't you see that my relationship is stable? I can see you hate the way we intermingle. But I think you're just mad 'cause you're single.

In later episodes we see Ruby and Sapphire openly flirting and the others characters refer to it as such. This is not subtext; it's a canonical lesbian relationship. Their fusion is an expression of love and a defiance against gem culture which frowns on fusion between different types of gems. As Garnet sings at one point, "I am made of love and it's stronger than you."

One could easily read Ruby and Sapphire's fusion into Garnet as a metaphor for LGBTQ people in the real world, celebrating their love and relationships even when the establishment may want to squash it out.

To see a lesbian couple in a kids show be open and affectionate would be one thing, but Steven Universe is all about making its character well rounded. In the episode "Keystone Motel," Garnet unfuses once again and Ruby and Sapphire argue.

This sounds simple, but it's actually revolutionary. With LGBTQ characters in media, there's a tendency to want to 'protect them'. To not let them be anything but happy. I understand where that comes from, and to a point it's necessary, but LGBTQ characters should still go through struggles just like any other character.

Here, Ruby and Sapphire are allowed to bicker and be mean to each other. They have a fight, just like any other couple, which normalizes their relationship even more. They eventually make up in the end with a flurry of kisses, which is a rare instance of lesbian characters especially getting a happy ending.

I could go on and on about those two, especially the episode that fills in their back story, but I'm delighted to say they aren't the only canonically gay characters in the series. We also have Pearl. A perfectionist who serves as an overprotective mother to Steven, it was hinted from very early on Pearl had feelings for none other than Steven's mother, Rose Quartz.

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Again, this is a lot of back-story but go with me here. Pearl and Rose fought in a war together and Pearl was Rose's solider. Pearl would do anything for Rose, after she liberated Pearl from the constraints of Gem society. Pearl's devotion to Rose was so intense the two entered into a romantic relationship, demonstrated in the episode "We Need To Talk."

From what I just described, it may sound fairly similar to Ruby and Sapphire, but Pearl and Rose's relationship takes a heartbreaking turn. While the show has made no bones about Pearl being a lesbian, the way she rebuffs any male advance is a clear indicator of that, Rose is portrayed somewhere along the bi or pansexual spectrum. Rose has a lot of love to give and in the episode "Mr. Greg" it's revealed Rose had many men come into her life. Pearl thought Rose would eventually choose her in the end, but she ended up with Greg Universe, Steven's eventual father.

This completely destroyed Pearl; especially after Rose sacrificed herself to allow Steven to be born. Over the course of the series, we slowly see her come to terms with her undying love for Rose, eventually culminating in the song 'It's Over Isn't It?'

You won, and she chose you, and she loved you, and she's gone. It's over, isn't it? Why can't I move on?

Thankfully she does try and move on and in "Last One Out of Beach City" she flirts up a storm with a character only known as Mystery Girl. It's cute, it's adorable, and it's so beautifully gay.

To see a lesbian character go through this kind of emotional arc over such a long stretch of time just proves how committed Steven Universe is to its gay characters. They aren't a one-note very special episode concern. They, and their relationships, are integral to the fabric of the show, even the ones that aren't all happy.

As mentioned before, not all fusions are good. Remember Jasper? Well, she forces a fusion with another Gem, Lapis, and it's portrayed as an extremely abusive relationship. Even when Lapis manages to escape from Jasper, it continues to haunt her. In one of the most harrowing episodes of the series, "Alone At Sea," Jasper attempts to fuse with Lapis once more, promising that she's changed and that Lapis is nothing without her.

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I mention this because it's powerful to see that relationships, even gay ones, can go sour. I've seen too many LGBT people stay in abusive relationships because they worry no one else will accept them. It's a powerful statement that that no one should be treated the way Jasper did to Lapis. Steven Universe portrays healthy and abusive relationships with such a degree of care and sensitivity that you wonder why primetime TV hasn't caught up with them.

This is only scratching the surface of what Steven Universe is so great at. The LGBT characters in these shows express love, but their relationships don't define them. They have hopes and dreams outside of whom they want to end up with. They get to be badass fighters and hilarious mentors. They get to sing and dance in between preparing for an oncoming war. The show has so many good morals that I could write a whole article about them, too.

The most powerful is what the show has to say about gender. The main character of the show, Steven, openly bucks gender stereotypes. He's not ashamed to be feminine and wears his heart on this sleeve. He cries when he has to and no one chastises him for it. When his friend Sadie can't perform in front of the city, he eagerly dons her costume, which as you can see, is clearly a woman's outfit. The best part? Everyone accepts it and there isn't a single disparaging comment.

The show bucks gender stereotypes even more when Steven fuses with a human, his best friend Connie. Together, they form Stevonnie who has been confirmed to use gender-neutral pronouns and Garnet refers them as such. Steven and Connie don't bat an eye at becoming a genderqueer character. Stevonnie has only showed up a few times, but I'm excited to see where the show takes them, especially with a complete lack of genderqueer characters on TV.

Steven Universe is what LGBTQ viewers need because it's meant for kids. It normalizes these relationships to impressionable young minds and helps those who do end up identifying as LGBTQ discover themselves. The show is great on its own merits, but what it does for its gay relationships and characters? That puts it over the top.

So if you need some escapism in this bigoted world? Give Steven Universe a shot. It's a series where everyone is accepted for who they are and are celebrated for it. LGBTQ people could use a show where they win in the end. Especially now.

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As the Crystal Gems sing in the show's full theme,

The odds are against us, this won't be easy, but we're not going to do it alone. We are the Crystal Gems! We'll always save the day. And if you think we can't? We'll always find a way.

Shamus Kelley will always win the fight and go out for pizza. Follow him on Twitter!

For more from Shamus including original TV scripts and podcasts visit www.ShamusKelley.com. He's been a TV writer since 2009 when he created and executive produced the...

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Steven Universe Is The LGBTQ Representation We Need - Den of Geek

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Features Steven Universe is one of the most progressive shows on TV and we take an in-depth look at its LGBTQ characters and relationships. This Steven Universe feature contains spoilers up to "Last One Out of Beach City." About a year ago I first started hearing about a little show called Steven Universe on Cartoon Network.

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'Steven Universe' is a popular cartoon on the US-based channel Cartoon Network, which is at once delightful, musical, emotional and pure fun. Among other things, the show is about how the eponymous main character, Steven, unravels the legacy of his mother, Rose, who was an intergalactic alien matriarch imperial overlord turned into a guerrilla war-criminal revolutionary liberator (yes, it's a children's show). Beyond its own merits, it is also a model for queer representation in media in how it depicts lesbian and non-binary characters.

In recent years, there has been a rise in LGBT+ characters in media, as confirmed by findings such as the annual "Where We Are on TV" report. Steven Universe, however, is at the pinnacle of queer representation for various reasons. Many shows with LGBT+ characters tend to relegate said characters to minor roles, rarely exploring in depth how their LGBT+ experiences are unique, or even universal, to all people. In contrast, all of the lesbian and non-binary characters in Steven Universe are main characters, and therefore get more airtime and exposure, which aids in the normalisation of lesbian and non-binary identities.

These characters' identities go beyond tokenism because they make sense within the show and serve a purpose. The ways in which they negotiate and express their identities fit perfectly into wider narrative arcs and into their own character development. The lesbian couple Ruby and Sapphire celebrated their wedding in a recent episode, and to have a lesbian wedding airing on Cartoon Network is in itself unprecedented. Their wedding is not a random tokenistic display but, rather, a result of their relationship growing stronger after a momentary break-up directly induced by a major plot twist in the show. The other highs and lows in the relationship of this adorable lesbian couple are also intimately linked with the quandaries and battles that form the show's plot.

"Many shows with LGBT+ characters tend to relegate said characters to minor roles, rarely exploring in depth how their LGBT+ experiences are unique, or even universal, to all people."

Another character on the show, Pearl, has an entire episode dedicated to her coping with her unacknowledged, unrequited love for a woman named Rose. Beyond normalising the feelings and experiences of a queer woman, this episode again makes sense in the broader narrative arc of characters dealing with the legacy of Rose, as well as Pearl's specific character development in becoming more independent and confident. Pearl finally reconciles with Rose's chosen lover, Greg, as well as with her own complex feelings towards Rose. Indeed, several episodes later, Pearl is suggested to have moved on from her trauma, having obtained the phone numbers of women in a suggested romantic context.

The importance of the explicitness of the show's queer characters cannot be downplayed. While subtext is fun to speculate about, having explicitly queer characters reinforces the legitimacy of these identities and also provides a more fulfilling experience for the audience. Where characters are only implicitly queer, questions about tokenism and general frustration are sure to follow suit. J. K. Rowling, for instance, seems to have developed a penchant for assigning minority statuses to characters after the end of her beloved series. But has anybody who has grown up with Harry Potter ever thought to themselves: "Wow, the ambiguous and implicit nature of the sexuality of a great wizard like Dumbledore really helped me feel more comfortable about my gayness"? I doubt it.

Steven Universe takes things a step further by also having non-binary characters as well, which is exceedingly rare in media. I, as a non-binary individual, find it extremely difficult to recall having come across any non-binary characters in the shows or books that I have consumed. The character Stevonnie, who uses they/them pronouns, is similar to the queer characters mentioned above in that they are also a main character on the show and that their identity ties into the unfolding of the story. Stevonnie is actually a "fusion" of a girl and a boy (Steven), due to the latter's magical alien powers. They maintain the personalities of the two children involved while still being their own, distinct individual. Their debut and very existence mark a significant milestone in the show because it exemplifies the character growth of the main character, Steven, and his changing magical powers.

Concurrent with the slow rise in representation of minority identities in the media, there has also emerged a debate about whether creators and actors should depict characters with minority identities that they themselves do not have. We can make the case that queer representation is more genuine, realistic and profound when done by queer creators. The show's creator, Rebecca Sugar, is herself openly bisexual and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns, and this might be a reason why her characterisation of queer and non-binary characters is so wonderful and believable. Additionally, queer characters benefit both creator and audience; Sugar, during the 2018 San Diego Comic Convention, revealed: "I am fine with being perceived as a woman but it's not really something I identify with internally [...] The characters in the show have been a wonderful way to express myself because I think, like many of the Gems, they don't mind being seen as women, and it's sort of part of their experience, but it's not something they really think about, about themselves. That's very much how I feel."

"The lesbian couple Ruby and Sapphire celebrated their wedding in a recent episode, and to have a lesbian wedding airing on Cartoon Network is in itself unprecedented."

A quibble I have, if I must have one, is that the abovementioned characters are too perfectly normalised and therefore unrealistic. Am I supposed to believe that every single person in town was supportive of Ruby and Sapphire's lesbian wedding without a trace of homophobia? Or that everybody uses they/them pronouns for Stevonnie without ever misgendering them? The fact that the show does not depict homophobia or transphobia is an important consideration, but not necessarily a negative one. As members of the LGBT+ community, we live in a world filled with hate (and hate crimes) and we know that already. Having a space full of love and lacking in hate is beneficial for our sanity and allows us to imagine what a better world might look like, using ideal ones like that of Steven Universe.

Representation matters because it reassures us about our own identities. This is particularly important during our formative years when we figure out what is normal and right in this world, which makes the fact that Steven Universe is a show intended for children and teenagers especially laudable and significant. Here is a show that teaches children that it is okay to be a girl who likes other girls or a person that uses they/them pronouns, a lesson that reaffirms our humanity for both those who belonging to the community and those who do not. The show's commercial success also serves as a rebuttal to common arguments that characters with minority identities do not sell or appeal to a larger audience. Depending on how exactly one defines a main character, the majority of the cast of Steven Universe could be said to be lesbian or non-binary. A show like Steven Universe is a rare gem indeed, and should be the model of meaningful queer representation that all creators have in mind.
Image Credit: Cartoon Network

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Steven Universe: a model of queer representation - The Oxford Student

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'Steven Universe' is a popular cartoon on the US-based channel Cartoon Network, which is at once delightful, musical, emotional and pure fun. Among other things, the show is about how the eponymous main character, Steven, unravels the legacy of his mother, Rose, who was an intergalactic alien matriarch imperial overlord turned into a guerrilla war-criminal [...]

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Growing up as a queer kid in the 80's and 90's was tough. Beyond just the general discrimination from the government or bigotry by average folk, there was absolutely no LGBTQ+ representation in any of the kids' books or shows I could find. Even when I started watching anime that did feature LGBTQ+ characters, those characters were all but wiped from the dubbed versions (and subbed versions were so expensive!). I can't tell you how excited I was for Haruka and Michiru to be introduced in Sailor Moon, nor how deeply crestfallen I was when they were dubbed as "cousins" for Cartoon Network.

Fast forward 20 years later, and I'm sitting with my children in tears as we watch Ruby and Sapphire's wedding in Steven Universe on the very same network. To say that Steven Universe has been lifechanging for me and countless queer kids and adults alike is not an understatement. Rebecca Sugar, the creator of Steven Universe, as well as many of her crew have spoken at length about their desire to create a show full of diversity and representation and just how hard they had to fight to tell these stories.

When Steven Universe first aired in 2013, we were introduced to a cast of strong non-binary women who were all but idolized by the young half-alien boy who serves as protagonst. The Gems were almost all voiced by and coded as women of color, and they all had body types unlike the cookie cutter Barbie figures we so often see in the women characters kids are told to look up to. In fact, with each new character introduced, Steven Universe continued to showcase diversity. While it would take dozens of articles to explain the diversity in this show, to celebrate Pride Month, we're going to delve into some of the highlights of LGBTQ+ representation in Steven Universe, which comes down to the different characters. Fair warning, there are most definitely spoilers ahead!

Garnet, Ruby, and Sapphire

Garnet is, in and of herself, an incredible character. She is powerful without having to be emotionless. She is as close to a leader as the Gems have thanks to her future vision. She is deep, as well as deeply passionate, and Steven clearly adores her. However, Garnet is also so much more than an individual character. Beneath it all, she is also a relationship.

Although the hints were there from the very first episode, it wasn't until the show had been on the air for nearly two years that Garnet was confirmed to be the fusion of two other Gems. When "Jailbreak," the Season One finale, aired in March 2015, Steven finally got the chance to meet Ruby and Sapphire, the queer couple whose relationship creates Garnet.

After waking up on a spaceship having been abducted by Homeworld Gems, Steven meets Ruby. She is fiery and loud - an eternal flame, you could say! She is also deeply distressed because she needs to find Sapphire. Steven offers to help but they soon end up separated again.

Then Steven meets Sapphire, a petite blue Gem whose face remains hidden behind her hair, speaks softly, and sings sweetly. She is so very much the opposite of Ruby. She also immediately recognizes Steven, and once he is able to set her free from the prison cell, she speeds off dragging him along in search of Ruby.

The two reunite with Sapphire kissing away Ruby's tears and Ruby scooping Sapphire up. They spin and laugh before fusing to reveal Garnet. Fusion, for those new to Steven Universe, is the combination of two characters into a single new character. That character has their own name, voice, personality, and drive. Up until this point, Steven, and the audience, didn't even know Garnet was a fusion.

Garnet sends Steven to find the rest of their family while she takes on one of the Gems who captured them. When Steven expresses his concern for leaving her to face Jasper alone, Garnet smiles and tells him, "It's okay Steven. I'm never alone."

While Ruby and Sapphire were rarely shown apart during the course of Steven Universe, their relationship in the form of Garnet was given plenty of focus. Rebecca Sugar has spoken in a number of interviews about why it was so important for them to showcase Garnet. Ruby and Sapphire represent Rebecca Sugar and their partner, Ian Jones-Quartey. The pair of creators were once physically attacked because of their interracial relationship and they came out of that hurt wanting to showcase a love like theirs as something powerful and admirable. In doing so, they came up with Garnet and their love has always shown through in the way Garnet is written.

From the moment Garnet was revealed to be a fusion on, the confirmation of that relationship being a loving romantic relationship was subtle - and in some countries, censored entirely. Steven described them saying, "Ruby and Sapphire are so close, that they can't stand to be apart." A fight causes them to unfuse as the focal point of another episode. Each of these little moments were easily cut or downplayed by those who didn't want to think of a queer couple in a children's show.

Then, in 2018, the moment that Rebecca Sugar and their team fought for finally happened. The undeniable proof that Ruby and Sapphire were truly a romantic couple: a marriage proposal and wedding. It became clear that the characters wanted their love to be solidified as both separate people but as one couple, but so did the creators behind the show itself.

By this point, plenty of other LGBTQ+ representation had been included in Steven Universe, and plenty more was yet to come.

Stevonnie

While fusion served as representation of Ruby and Sapphire's romantic relationship, not all fusions were romantic and none were so long lasting. When fusion was first introduced as a concept, it was Pearl and Amethyst whose constant bickering kept the two from fusing often or for long. The second time fusion was featured in the show was between Steven and his best friend Connie. The fusion was accidental and unprecedented - the Gems weren't even sure Steven could fuse because of his human half. Their fusion and friendship became the focal point of several lessons on communication and consent, but their LGBTQ+ representation was also huge.

Stevonnie took traits from both Steven and Connie. They used they/them pronouns, and were presented as canonically nonbinary and intersex. They're also positively beautiful. The other teens Stevonnie meets, male and female alike, all seem to find them attractive, tripping over their tongues and blushing. Described by Garnet as "an experience," they were very much a good one, and a character who meant worlds to many trans, enby, and intersex people.

Although some watching the show didn't quite get that Stevonnie wasn't a woman, it becomes clear in a later episode, where they get stranded for an extended period on an alien planet. They end up growning facial hair, which they then shave using their sword. To further clarify, Stevonnie was featured in a Dove Self Esteem Project spot , in which their social media specifies intersex, non-binary, and those they/them pronouns.

I've heard from so many non-binary adults who desperately needed even a bit of this sort of representation growing up. Growing up never seeing yourself in the stories you read and watch is so isolating. Lacking the terminology to even describe your experience builds so much self doubt. As a parent of a non-binary kid, the joy I see in their eyes every single time Stevonnie comes on the screen is indescribable, but once again, I find myself so grateful that kids growing up now can see themselves in these characters.

Pearl

While Steven's mother, Rose Quartz, died long before the events of the show, we get to know her through the people who loved her, and no one loved her longer than Pearl. Pearl's love and devotion to Rose Quartz defines her character for so much of the show, and at no point is that love presented as anything other than romantic. In fact, there is even an episode and song built around Pearl coming to terms with Rose having chosen Steven's father instead of her.

Eventually, Pearl does move on past her unrequited love. She is shown crushing on a human woman, and eventually having a whole fan club of humans whose numbers she collects. Although we don't ever see if Pearl ends up in a romantic relationship with any of these admirers, we do find out by the time Steven Universe Future wraps up, that it's not just humans who have an eye for Pearl, but one Gem in particular.

Bismuth

Although she spent much of the series in a bubble, Bismuth is another awesome LGBTQ+ character from this series. Bismuth was an old war buddy to the Crystal Gems who ended up in a bubble thanks to her desire to shatter the Diamonds. It took a lot of big reveals, and the impending wedding of Ruby and Sapphire, but eventually she was brought back as a permanent addition to the team. After some comments suggested Bismuth might just have a crush on Pearl, she admits as much in Steven Universe Future.

And me? I just want to know what their fusion would be called!

Shep

Even when it comes to background characters or side characters that only show up in one or two episodes, Steven Universe continued to provide LGBTQ+ representation. Take the introduction of Shep, a non-binary character who was introduced as Sadie's partner in Steven Universe Future. Shep only speaks in one episode, but their inclusion - and the fact that their being non-binary didn't need to be explained with Gem magic and wasn't a plot point - was great for many of the enbies watching.

What now?

Steven Universe, Steven Universe Future , and even the Steven Universe comics are all over now. Fortunately, the work Rebecca Sugar and their crew did in getting LGBTQ+ representation on air has helped so many other creators showcase their own LGBTQ+ characters. There are lots of LGBTQ+ inclusive shows to watch after you've finished Steven Universe and more coming every day. The future is definitely bright!

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How Steven Universe opened the door to diversity and inclusion in kids' shows

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If you have kids or just happen to love cartoons, you've probably noticed more and more LGBTQ+ representation is popping up in these shows lately. That is due, in no small part, to the work of Rebecca Sugar and their show Steven Universe.

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When "Steven Universe" debuted in 2013, it introduced the world to a charming, cheerful boy who is just learning how to be a hero. It's quickly apparent that the half-human, half-magical teen loves his friends and family, is enthusiastic about food and is eager to prove that he's ready to save the world.

Guiding Steven (voiced by Zach Callison) along his journey are Garnet (Estelle), Amethyst (Michaela Dietz) and Pearl (Deedee Magno Hall) - a team of extraterrestrial beings known as the Crystal Gems who have sworn to protect Earth.

Over the course of five seasons, Steven and the Crystal Gems face innumerable, increasingly powerful threats and learn uncomfortable truths about the past. But it's the characters and their relationships that are central to the show.

"My goal from the very beginning of 'Steven Universe' was to tell a very personal story," said creator and showrunner Rebecca Sugar on an early March morning at Cartoon Network Studios in Burbank. The long-running show is based on Sugar's relationship with her brother, Steven.

The main series wrapped in 2019 after Steven helped establish peace across the universe, but his story wasn't over; a TV movie picking up two years after the end of the show aired later that year. Steven's story was further extended into a limited epilogue series, " Steven Universe Future," which concludes with a four-part series finale airing Friday.

A whimsical, musical coming-of-age story, the five-time Emmy-nominated series became known for thoughtfully engaging with themes not often addressed in children's television: trauma, grief, toxic relationships, consent, empathy and more.

But "Steven Universe's" greatest legacy is repeatedly breaking new ground for LGBTQ representation in kids' cartoons. Not only does the fantasy/sci-fi series include a range of recognizably queer and nonbinary characters, it has also featured a same-sex proposal and wedding.

This inclusive storytelling has resonated with fans and is among the reasons "Steven Universe" has been hailed by critics. The show has earned both a GLAAD Media Award and a Peabody.

As Cartoon Network's chief content officer Rob Sorcher says, "Steven Universe" is the "gold standard" for the studio.

"This is the kind of content that we want to make," Sorcher said. "We want to be working on things every day that's going to actually matter in a young person's life."

He added: "The real legacy of this show is that it included such a wide spectrum of themes that were not ever really addressed in a realistic way on children's television [before]."

The series stood out in its earliest days by defying expectations about what constitutes a "boy show" or a "girl show": Its boy protagonist looks up to, and trains to be part of, a team of magical warrior women. But it wasn't until the Season 1 finale, which aired in 2015, that the extent of the show's queer representation became apparent.

"Jail Break" revealed to Steven and the audience that Garnet was in fact the fusion of Ruby (Charlyne Yi) and Sapphire (Erica Luttrell) and the personification of their romantic relationship.

"From the very beginning, one of my main goals was to find a way to create an interracial, queer-coded relationship that a whole generation of kids would see," said Sugar, who identifies as nonbinary and uses both she/her and they/them pronouns. ("I don't have to pick one. That's the thing that's so exciting," Sugar said.)

The Gems in "Steven Universe" are also nonbinary women - they are coded female and are referred to by feminine pronouns but are biologically sexless, as a Gem's form is actually the physical manifestation of the magic in the respective gemstone. This means relationships among Gems are coded queer too.

Gems' ability to fuse expanded the possibilities for representation: One fusion represents a polyamorous relationship; another is intersex and nonbinary. But Ruby and Sapphire's love story is something special.

It turns out that Garnet is unlike the fusions deemed "acceptable" by the rigid Gem Homeworld: She is a fusion of two types of Gems, who are fused simply because they want to be together.

For Sugar, this story line is especially personal. Ruby and Sapphire are based on her and her husband, " OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes" creator Ian Jones-Quartey.

Sugar's commitment to getting Ruby and Sapphire's story on TV stemmed from her firsthand understanding of how harmful it can be for queer youths to not see their experiences reflected in media. She also knew that being queer can put one in danger.

"When when I was 22, I was the target of a racist, homophobic assault," said Sugar, detailing a night out walking with Jones-Quartey. "Ian is black and I am nonbinary, and at the time I had short hair and I wore very masculine clothes, so we were often perceived as two men."

Because they got away, it was an incident they didn't speak about for years. It wasn't until she was working on "Steven Universe" that Sugar was able to understand that she had never properly dealt with the trauma - one of the central themes explored in "Steven Universe Future."

This experience motivated her to craft a story in which, through understanding and rooting for Garnet - a queer-coded, interracial relationship - "a whole generation of kids could root for us [and] could see us walking down the street, holding hands and never think to do something like that to us because they would know that we don't deserve [to be attacked]."

But it wasn't easy.

"As I'm writing about this, as I'm pitching this, I'm also getting a lot of pushback," Sugar said. "This was not considered acceptable material for children at the time. ... [But] who is speaking to a generation of children about why they deserve to exist? About how they deserve to exist? I wanted to be able to do that."

While working on "Jail Break" in 2014, "it became clear to the network that I was incorporating LGBTQIA+ characters and themes into the show," Sugar said. She was told that there was a chance the show could be canceled if authorities in conservative countries noticed and objected to those themes.

"My biggest concern at the time was that I didn't want the show to disappear in these countries where I was very worried about the kids there," Sugar said.

So she avoided directly addressing certain questions about the show's queer representation, both to navigate the situation with the international market and because, at the time, she was not yet out to her family. Instead, she focused on expressing herself through the cartoon.

"That just became unsustainable," said Sugar. "By late 2015 and 2016, it was just too painful to not be open about it."

Sugar came out as bisexual during the "Steven Universe" panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2016 and has become increasingly vocal about the need for LGBTQ narratives in children's television. She has also addressed how biphobic attitudes she encountered when she was younger had erased the idea of bisexuality as an authentic identity.

"I don't know if I had been totally ready in that moment," Sugar said, recalling the audience Q&A in a capacity crowd ballroom that led to her coming out. "I just felt so bad. I was just so tired of giving vague answers to this."

It was later that year that Sugar and her team finally got the go-ahead for Ruby and Sapphire's wedding.

Though the Season 5 episode didn't air until 2018, it was something Sugar had been trying to get made since 2015 - the culmination of all the groundwork she had laid over the course of the series.

Whenever the network pushed back on episodes, Sugar "would leave and strategize how to make the most engaging, entertaining, undeniably sweet, wonderful thing that nobody in their right mind could say would not be great to see on television." And she trusted her crew to be able to pull it off.

"Showing the fantasy elements of [Ruby and Sapphire's] relationship was easier to get through than them just playing baseball together and saying 'I want to look at you,' or them them laughing together and wanting to be together," Sugar said. "The relatable human interactions, that was more trouble, which was surprising. But it was also really interesting that this is what children can't see - something as simple as the small human interactions between two people in love."

For the wedding episode, Sugar wouldn't bend: Her approach to network notes was to add more. Previous episodes showed why it was absolutely in character for Ruby, Sapphire and even Steven to want this wedding. She even included a massive musical number and a giant robot fight to counter any argument that 6- to 11-year-old boys would not find the episode entertaining.

Ruby and Sapphire's nuptials were the first same-sex wedding featured in a Cartoon Network series - complete with a kiss. It changed everything.

"It was at that time [when the episode received the go-ahead from the network] that the final decision was made that we would no longer be getting bigoted notes," Sugar said. "That everything that a heteronormative couple could do on the show, this queer couple could do. That was it. And it also applied to every other [Cartoon Network] show."

Sorcher credits Sugar for pushing for the change.

"Rebecca's passion for real representation on the screen, the identification of queer characters in narratives for children, did educate me, because she really, deeply felt the importance of that," Sorcher said. "I think her notion of radical inclusion really jump-started me and others forward."

He added: "The idea that children's programming can contain a wider spectrum of ideas and characters and stories, I think Rebecca Sugar broke that open and changed that forever."

Of course, these changes did not happen in a vacuum. Attitudes and policies around the LGBTQ community have evolved since "Steven Universe's" debut, including the recognition that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right.

Sugar stressed that it's important to stay aware of the current political climate, which has seen states such as Idaho moving to enact anti-trans legislation, along with other efforts at the state and federal level to roll back LGBTQ rights. History has shown progress is not linear.

And when it comes to facing challenges political and personal, Sugar has always found comfort in returning to "Steven Universe's" reason for being: its viewers.

"It's funny, because the thing that was difficult about it - making something for kids - was the same thing that was keeping me grounded about it," Sugar said.

"These prejudices are all learned. I was so glad to be making something for a young audience because they didn't know that these things weren't supposed to be in there."

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'Steven Universe' changed TV forever. For its creator, its queer themes were personal

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When "Steven Universe" debuted in 2013, it introduced the world to a charming, cheerful boy who is just learning how to be a hero. It's quickly apparent that the half-human, half-magical teen loves his friends and family, is enthusiastic about food and is eager to prove that he's ready to save the world.

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Editors: Ziegler, John R, Richards, Leah (Eds.)

Offers the first extended academic analysis of Steven Universe

Addresses issues of gender, sexuality, audience, the body, hybridity, genre, culture, and politics that arise in Steven Universe

Utilizes a variety of critical-theoretical perspectives, from queer theory to media theory to postcolonial theory

see more benefits

About this book

This book assembles ten scholarly examinations of the politics of representation in the groundbreaking animated children's television series Steven Universe. These analyses address a range of representational sites and subjects, including queerness, race, fandom, colonialism, and the environment, and provide an accessible foundation for further scholarship. The introduction contextualizes Steven Universe in the children's science-fiction and anime traditions and discusses the series' crucial mechanic of fusion. Subsequent chapters probe the fandom's expressions of queer identity, approach the series' queer force through the political potential of the animated body, consider the unequal privilege of different female characters, and trace the influence of anime director Kunihiko Ikuhara. Further chapters argue that Ronaldo allows satire of multiple media forms, focus on Onion as a surrealist trickster, and contemplate cross-species hybridity and consent. The final chapters concentrate on background art in connection with ecological and geological narratives, adopt a decolonial perspective on the Gems' legacy, and interrogate how the tension between personal and cultural narratives constantly recreates memory.

About the authors

John R. Ziegler (Bronx Community College, CUNY, USA), an Assistant Professor of English, has published on early modern English literature, ghosts, and zombies.

Leah Richards (LaGuardia Community College, CUNY, USA), an Associate Professor of English, has published on Dracula and Land of the Dead. Together, they review theater for thinking Theater NYC and Culture Catch and edit the journal Supernatural Studies.

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Representation in Steven Universe | John R Ziegler | Palgrave Macmillan

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Editors: Ziegler, John R, Richards, Leah (Eds.) Offers the first extended academic analysis of Steven Universe Addresses issues of gender, sexuality, audience, the body, hybridity, genre, culture, and politics that arise in Steven Universe Utilizes a variety of critical-theoretical perspectives, from queer theory to media theory to postcolonial theory see more benefits About this book This book assembles ten scholarly examinations of the politics of representation in the groundbreaking animated children's television series Steven Universe.

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Aja Romano

Internet Culture

Steven Universe is a beloved animated children's show known for its smart and progressive depictions of its diverse and lovable cast of characters.

But these positive qualities in the show itself have led to a very ugly turn of events in the Steven Universe fandom, after a beleaguered fanartist said she attempted suicide after being bullied by members of the fandom who felt her art was problematic. In a bizarre turn of events prompted by the ensuing debate over what kinds of fanart are acceptable, some fans have now turned even against the show's creative team, including show creator Rebecca Sugar.

It all started last week when a fanartist going by the name Zamii caused a scare on Tumblr when she posted an apparent final note to her Tumblr, then disappeared for three days. When she re-emerged, it was to post a tearful video she claimed was being filmed at a hospital where she said she was getting the help she needed.

Prior to Zamii's alarming initial farewell, members of the Steven Universe and fandoms had reportedly created more than 40 critical blogs and other social media accounts directed at her because they believed she was purveying problematic depictions of many of the characters she drew. During her time in fandom, Zamii had been accused of a litany of flawed portrayals of characters, including perpetuating "racism/stereotyping, transmisogyny/transphobia, apologism, incest, pedophilia, fatphobia, and ableism" in her art. For example, when Zamii drew a Japanese character from the popular anime Yowamushi Pedal, she came under fire for giving the character yellow skin and slanted eyes; when she drew a black character, she came under fire for removing her Afro and giving her blonde hair; when she drew a "Native American Fluttershy" from My Little Pony, the response was mixed and often critical, pointing out that she had further stereotyped the character.

While the reasons for some of the criticisms are plain, others were harder to parse. Here's how one character, Rose Quartz, looks in official Steven Universe (SU) animation:

Here's an example of how she's drawn in one popular piece of fanart (not by Zamii):

In 2013, Zamii drew this partial view of Rose Quartz which her detractors felt depicted the character as too thin:

deviantART

In her more recent art of the character, her detractors continued to accuse her of making the character too thin, tagging her work with "#fatphobia" and other accusatory descriptions, though the artwork doesn't appear significantly dissimilar to the official imagery from the cartoon. And criticism continued, independent of the size argument:

Tumblr

Part of the "evidence" that she was transmisogynistic included her using the words "dude" and "man" as interjectory statements while talking to a woman, then joking about the word use. Over time, Zamii created a list of rebuttals and explanations, including apologies, to many of the accusations of transmisogyny and problematic elements in her art. In response to claims of racism against Native Americans, she wrote, "[I] have apologized for it countless times and have deleted the picture within a few days of posting it."

It wasn't enough to halt her feeling that she was being bullied. Though Zamii is recovering-her most recent update was Monday-the concern over the abuse she received has caused a maelstrom throughout her fandoms. A post made last week on Reddit's Homestuck subreddit about the situation garnered dozens of supportive comments condemning the culture that motivated the bullying. The Steven Universe and related tags on Tumblr have been overflowing with similar outrage, backlash to the sentiment that harassment and bullying are somehow justified when they're in the name of progressive ideals. The wave of support for Zamii on Tumblr has led to a paradoxical campaign: Other fanartists are deliberately drawing the character of Rose Quartz as thin in protest.

On the other side of the issue, plenty of people have insisted that it's more important to continue calling out what they see as problematic behavior-even if that extends to the kind of social ostracism that led to all this to begin with. "Me not being a pushover for oppression makes ME toxic??" wrote one user. "Fuck that."

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On Sunday night, the turmoil reached the Steven Universe production crew, prompting series co-producer Ian Jones-Quartey to weigh in with a now-deleted tweet, saying artists should be allowed to draw what they want.

The response was immediate:

@ianjq Racist fanart doesn't stop being racist just because it's fanart.
- Molly the Great (@irishileana) October 26, 2015

Jones-Quartey's comments ushered in a new phase of the debate, as fans began criticizing his comments, along with series creator Rebecca Sugar. Years ago, when Sugar was still just a fan, she created fanart of underage characters, which has suddenly now opened her up to accusations of pedophilia from fans accusing her of creating "child pornography." The artwork under discussion depicts non-graphic sexual activity between two characters whose ages are ambiguous in a black-and-white cartoon comic. As these fans began to direct criticism toward the Steven Universe creators, other onlookers criticized Tumblr culture itself for being so quick to turn on its own.

"Watch the Tumblr fandom mindset in action," wrote Tumblr user nyx-born-prophet.

Until you do something they don't like, you can do no wrong. Last month, the Crewniverse was a diverse group of talented people who made an amazing show. Now Rebecca Sugar is sick because she drew Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddie porn at one point. Ian JQ is a disgusting pervert for liking lolicon. They're all racists, fat-phobics, and terrible people because they promote artistic freedom in their own fandom, but none of it mattered before they got tired of the bullying. None of it mattered before the fans drove someone to a suicide attempt.

"[T]he crewniverse thing is still freaking me out cause everyone is still taking it as black and white," echoed Tumblr user torimisu, referring to the fandom nickname, "crewniverse," for the SU creative team. "[E]ither you're a villain cause you condone offensive drawings or you're a villain cause you agree with harassment of young artists. [T]here's no winning."

Meanwhile, the hateful rhetoric around Zamii's participation in the fandom continues, with numerous detractors arguing that she was faking her alleged hospital video, and one calling her "an absolute piece of shit."

It seems the conversation about how to call out problematic tropes without marginalizing or harassing other members of fandom isn't going to fade quietly away.

Update 1:15 pm ET, Oct. 28: Co-producer Ian Jones-Quartey deleted the original tweet mentioned in this article and issued a clarification on Twitter:

Fanartists can create whatever art they want & everyone has the freedom to criticize it for any reason. However, bullying is not criticism.
- ianjq (@ianjq) October 28, 2015

@ianjq I have listened to concerns and I agree, my earlier statement was vague and reductive. Thank you to everyone who made me aware.
- ianjq (@ianjq) October 28, 2015
Illustration by zamii070/deviantART

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'Steven Universe' creator caught in the crossfire over alleged fanartist suicide attempt

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Aja Romano Internet Culture Steven Universe is a beloved animated children's show known for its smart and progressive depictions of its diverse and lovable cast of characters. But these positive qualities in the show itself have led to a very ugly turn of events in the Steven Universe fandom, after a beleaguered fanartist said she attempted suicide after being bullied by members of the fandom who felt her art was problematic.

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Steven Universe is known for its absolutely terrible fan base, so much that there are people who stop watching the show in total just to avoid its toxic fans. Being a Steven Universe fan, people are very quick to judge my personality based on my one interest, coming to an instant conclusion that I'm trashy and not worth respect. While I'm easily able to brush off such ignorance, many people are annoyed by it, and it's easy to see why. They're being judged based off other people's actions.

Some people say that it's only a small minority of people that disgrace the fandom, but as the saying goes- one bad apple can ruin the bunch.

Zamii070

Almost every SU fan is aware of the Zamii incident and it's the reason many people avoid entering the fandom/community. Essentially, there was a girl on tumblr with a username Zamii070. She made the most beautiful art and deserved all the praise she got. I'll even link her account in the description, since she's still making art till this day.

However, people took notice that she was drawing characters slightly slimmer than normally, and they decided to "criticize" her for it. Yes, that is what these groups of individuals sought to call it. They started cursing at her, insulting her, threatening her with death and rape. This even got to the point where the pops girl decided to put herself to sleep.

In late 2015, Zamii said goodbye to her fans and decided to end her life. Of course, as her channel is still up today, she was unsuccessful, but that doesn't erase what happened.

You'd think that these bullies would reform after seeing how much their words can affect others, but the opposite happened. They saw that they were getting to her, and increased the amount of hate. They said she was faking it and that she just wanted attention.

The good fans of SU decided to take a stand many tried to reach SU creators so that they can address the situation and others made art of cannonly fat characters being skinny as a means of supporting Zamii. While some of the disgusting individuals that attacked Zamii still yearned for attention, they were mostly silenced by 2016.

Lauren Zuke

Lauren Zuke was a story writer and drawer on Steven Universe. At the time of the leak of "Beta", Lauren Zuke had expressed interest in the ship known as Lapidot and has drawn plenty of fanart supporting the ship.

While many Lapidot shippers were ecstatic,most Amedot shippers quite vexed and felt the need to express their disapproval. Of course, every writer should know that you just can't please everybody, the sheer amount of hate got into Zuke's head.

Lauren posted a goodbye tweet before she left twitter and many SU fans were in support of her actions. Ignorant people are everywhere. It's your job to cut them off so that they can't affect you.

The last episode she Story boarded was "Stuck Together", which hit the fans where it hurt. The episode itself was emotional, just like Lauren's leave.

While there were multiple haters left to wallow in their salt, many caring people made art of Lauren and wished her the best.

Concrete

This summer, the entire fandom lost their heads over Rebecca Sugar's release of the SU art and origins book. It featured a character known as Concrete. She was an obviously black-coated character that had the following qualities; had lots of shoes, can't read, can't punch.

Now, being a black person, I do not see this as racism or even blackface. It's nothing more than a cartoon. And the reason it was left out of the show was because she was fully aware that it would upset many people.

Rebecca apologized for including her in the book, but arguments still continued as SU youtubers continued to talk about the subject.

ImGrayson

A young boy known as Grayson made a YouTube channel where he would talk about typical 12 year old things such as his favorite SU characters and Pokémon. Nothing guilty, until he started to steal the work of another person on twitter named Triplex.

After a while, she started to get incredibly aggressive with the young child and started swearing him out. Soon after, the entire fandom was at his throat- cursing, swearing, and threatening him.

Personally, All I did was report his channel and move on, and I hoped that's the route that more people would've gone with. Instead, most people took the toxic route, and decided to go on every one of his videos to hurt him.

He eventually made a new channel, but that was soon taken.down, despite the fact that he didn't even upload anything.

He currently has another channel that he uses to comment on YouTube videos and it's yet to be taken down.

AJ Universe and The Roundtable

In early 2016, a member of the Roundtable, Awestruck Vox, made a video "exposing" another SU youtuber by the name of AJ Universe. AJ had apparently been critiquing some theories of Vox's associates, to which Vox felt the need to defend his friends(very admirable btw).

Both were very nice about the situation at the end. They both admitted that they had flaws they needed to work on and all was well.

That is, until many people started debating about who was "right" despite the conflict being peacefully resolved. Venom was thrown all over the battleground by people saying that they'll "unsubscribe" or that they've "completely lost respect for ...".

Btw, both content creators are amazing at what they do. Feel free to drop buy and give them a sub!

Skyward Wing and Bubble O Steven

Both went through a similar experience to the previous two people. Skywardwing made a video discussing his distaste for leaks, offending a leaked known as Bubble O Steven. When Sky was called a "hater", Sky made a video to apologize for attacking Bubnle. Many people debate about whether Sky should've apologized or not, and who was "the bad guy."

Hate vs. Criticism

Then there are the petty arguments. In any fandom, your bound to run into petty arguments; whether you inadvertently started them, or whether you were pulled into them. When I first entered, I started a lot of arguments, mostly because I got very defensive when people started criticizing my opinion. Of course, I've grown and learned to accept the fact that people won't always see things the way you do and that's okay. However, one thing that still bothers me to this day is how people confuse "hate" for "criticism".

In my honest opinion, I don't believe in "over criticism". Stating a negative opinion is never a bad thing, so long as you're mature about it, of course. This is especially so when talking about fictional characters. These characters are meant to be talked about. One shouldn't have to hide their negative opinion to avoid getting thrashed. This is especially emphasized by SliceofOtaku, a creator who tries to implement negative and positive feedback of SU into his content.

However, "hate" is a different thing. Hate is when you verbally slash someone because they have a different opinion from you. Whether they think positively about something you dislike, or they think negatively about something you like, hate is never okay. I get it, sometimes it can be frustrating, but you need to learn to be accepting. And believe me, I know this more than anybody, acceptance takes time.
#curatorreview #CuratorReview #Curatorreview
Thank the artist for their work: https://koriarredondo.deviantart.com/art/Pearl-516296253

The Roundtable: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnZrjucYjaXKUx8rD3qOBlw

Skywardwing: https://www.youtube.com/user/SkywardWing

AJ Universe: https://www.youtube.com/user/AwesomeJohn22

Bubble O Steven: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-sFetfZKl5EUcmNQzzz5iA

Zamii070: https://zamii070.tumblr.com/

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The TOXICITY in the Steven Universe Fandom | Steven Universe Amino

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Steven Universe is known for its absolutely terrible fan base, so much that there are people who stop watching the show in total just to avoid its toxic fans. Being a Steven Universe fan, people are very quick to judge my personality based on my one interest, coming to an instant conclusion that I'm trashy and not worth respect.

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There's a reason Alex Hirsch, the creator of Gravity Falls, believes Rebecca Sugar is "at the front of the pack" and "pulling everyone else along" with regards to representation in kids' programming. "She really is the Moses parting the waves on this thing," he tells EW.

Steven Universe, a show that has already been leading the way in LGBTQ representation for cartoons and animation, made history in July when it aired the first same-sex marriage proposal for the medium. Days later brought the episode "Reunited," which gave the equally historic wedding between Ruby and Sapphire, two members of the Crystal Gems that combine to form one of earth's alien defenders, Garnet.

These episodes involved years hard work on the part of Sugar and her team.

It hasn't always been easy to air LGBTQ characters in shows geared towards children, a genre often policed by anti-gay conservatives and religious groups.

Sugar tells EW it has been "extremely difficult" for her to earn this kind of visibility on Steven Universe, but acknowledges that large strides have been made. "When we started doing this in 2011, it was impossible and it has become possible over the last many years of working really hard to do this," she explains.

"We need to let children know that they belong in this world," she says. "You can't wait to tell them that until after they grow up or the damage will be done. You have to tell them while they're still children that they deserve love and that they deserve support and that people will be excited to hear their story. When you don't show any children stories about LGBTQIA characters and then they grow up, they're not going to tell their own stories because they're gonna think that they're inappropriate and they're going to have a very good reason to think that because they've been told that through their entire childhood."

Here, Sugar discusses with EW the obstacles she's faced in the fight for LGBTQ visibility in kids' animation, where we are now, and the importance behind the representation.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Do you remember what the initial conversations surrounding your pitch for the proposal and wedding episodes were? When did you realize you wanted to do something like this and when did you realize you actually could do something like this?
REBECCA SUGAR: I remember everything. These conversations really go all the way back to 2014, maybe even 2013, when Ruby and Sapphire were becoming characters on the show and when the nature of Garnet was suddenly being put front and center in the episode "Jail Break." That's when I first started coming face to face with the limitations that existed on what we could do. And from that point on as we were developing their relationship, because in our show we're dedicated to developing the relationships between all the characters, the absolute unfairness of being able to develop certain relationships and having a ceiling on developing other characters relationships was so clear.

We started talking about the wedding episode, I think, in early 2016 and it didn't surprise me that there were roadblocks. I mean, when we were working on "Jail Break," gay marriage was not yet legal in the US. Basically, what was interesting to me about the arc of this whole experience was that I ended up in many conversations where it was made clear to me that this was not something that should be in G-rated content and that there was a limit on how much we could show these characters, how close these characters could be with each other. And it was a little bit like staring into the sun because I felt the toll it was taking on my personal mental health and I realized that that is what is happening to millions of children because when this is not in this content, that is what is being said to them.

And this has changed. We have been able to break this down and I think the only way to do it was to just really show how wholesome these characters are, how adorable their love is. There's no question that these aren't the two cutest little characters in love you've ever seen in your life. There could only be one reason you could not show this to kids, and that reason is not fair, so that reason has to disappear.

Do you see some of the earlier moments, like with Pearl's dance sequence, allowing the proposal and wedding scenes to be more accepted?
Yeah. Every time we would cover this ground, it would be a conversation. I think part of the challenge is that this show was an international show. We would be getting notes not just from the US but also from Europe, from around the world about what we could and couldn't show, and they would be different notes from different countries. And I felt really determined to make this as acceptable as possible because I didn't want this show to be censored in countries where I felt children would really need to see this-and it has been now [censored] in several countries. But I feel that, hopefully, they'll still be able to find it.

There was a point at which it was brought to my attention that the studio... I was brought up to a meeting where they [the studio] said, "We know that you're doing this, and we support that you're doing this... We don't want to be giving notes on this, but we have to give notes on this" and it was all very difficult to navigate. Ultimately, I said, "If this is going to cost me my show that's fine because this is a huge injustice and I need to be able to represent myself and my team through this show and anything less would be unfair to my audience." This was around 2016 and that's when I began to speak openly about what we were doing.

Are you allowed to say at this point whether Steven Universe is going to continue beyond the movie that was announced at Comic-Con?
I can't say, but we definitely got over the hurdle of this particular [situation]. I feel very free. I feel that I've been able to tell the story I wanted to tell and I've been able to tell it without keeping this a secret. If I had had to continue keeping this a secret, I don't know how I would have continued to go on 'cause it was so impossible to dodge such a personal question over and over again about why I wanted to do this story, if I was doing it at all. [Editor's note: Sugar came out as bisexual in 2016 and as non-binary in 2018.]

What I remember most about the wedding scene was how Ruby, who typically embraces a more masculine style of dress, was shown to be in an actual wedding dress and then Sapphire was in the suit. Was that a conscious decision that you made for that moment?
I promise you that every single thing you see drawn is a very conscious decision, down to the 24th frame of every second, everything meticulously thought through.

Yes, that was a very conscious decision. For me, Ruby in a dress is how I feel when I'm in a dress. I think the show has been a chance for me to become a little more comfortable with exploring my own relationship to gender, and, of all the characters, Ruby is my most direct vessel of a character. There are drawings from 2014 of Ruby in that dress. That was a long, long dream, and I really couldn't imagine it any other way. Ruby and Sapphire have always been meant to represent me and my partner and so that always felt natural to me. I think the other thing is it's never explicitly stated that, the Gems costuming, it's not necessarily something they chose for themselves. The Gems sort of are of these various types and getting to explore their own identities is something that they're really only able to do on earth. So being able to choose what they were wearing at their wedding is one of the many exciting things about them investigating human culture and it always just felt like it made a lot of sense to me.

Do you think it's easier to include more LGBTQ visibility when you're in a fantastical genre like sci-fi or fantasy as opposed to a more family-oriented household show?
I can really only speak to my experience writing sci-fi/fantasy/action/comedy shows, but it has been extremely difficult to do it within this show. So I don't know how it would be to do it for a different show, but please know that when we started doing this in 2011 it was impossible and it has become possible over the last many years of working really hard to do this.

It's really interesting because the fantasy part can get through just fine. These concepts, which are so human, that's the part that was difficult to include and I think that that is so strange - that in a fantasy these simple, real, human experiences, that there would be any reason not to include them. And now we can, which is just so exciting.

I'm curious how you view the acceptance of LGBTQ visibility in this kind of kids' medium now compared to when you were working on Adventure Time. Do you think the environment has become more inclusive?
I think that we've been - and I say this across many networks - many different people have been working very hard to change this.

Since I started working on Adventure Time, when I became more aware of what we're really saying by excluding these characters, it became more and more dire, and also to know that the difference, one of the things that was presented to me was that there were certain things we could do because we were a PG show that we couldn't do if we were a G show, and it struck me how critical it is to make that there are LGBTQIA characters in G-rated content, that the G rating said everything because as long as certain people are considered to be inappropriate for families and children, there is no equality and we are keeping very young children who are seeing this, especially if they are LGBTQIA, if they're queer kids, you're telling them directly that they don't belong in a family-friendly world if you exclude them from G-rated content.

Over the course of realizing that, it began to feel like an emergency. We need to let children know that they belong in this world. You can't wait to tell them that until after they grow up or the damage will be done. You have to tell them while they're still children that they deserve love and that they deserve support and that people will be excited to hear their story. When you don't show any children stories about LGBTQIA characters and then they grow up, they're not going to tell their own stories because they're gonna think that they're inappropriate, and they're going to have a very good reason to think that because they've been told that through their entire childhood. Realizing that changed everything for me.

The other thing is that people would tell me often, "How are you getting these adult themes into your show?" And that would really strike me because love stories are not adult scenes. The idea that it is adult because it's queer, the gravity of that started to set in for me and the fear I had growing up myself came into focus for me. The things that I felt I couldn't talk about - even into my late 20s - came into focus for me. By including LGBTQIA content and characters in G-rated entertainment for kids, you tell kids when they're young that they belong in this world. You can't not tell them that. There can't be only a certain group of kids that gets told someone will love you by all the entertainment that they see. It's just so unfair. By the time I reached 2016, I felt the weight of it so powerfully I would've risked everything just to get to say this to you now in this moment.

When you were first pitching this show, was there a concern that you would be running into roadblocks or that you wouldn't be able to tell the story you wanted to tell?
When I first pitched this show, I pitched that it would be based off of my childhood with my little brother and our sibling relationship with each other, and I was always very honest about that. It was always going to be about that. At the time, I hadn't told anyone that I'm bisexual, but that's been a part of my life since I was a little kid. And I think what happens very naturally when writing in the show is that, in mining all of our own personal experiences for stories, so many of my stories had to deal with childhood crushes and high school romances and falling in love with friends and things that I couldn't not write about. It was just part of my young experience and that's what felt so alarming. It was very true to my original pitch. This was going to be about me and my younger brother, who was always my best friend and my support when I was young and then to realize that there is this huge part of my experience - and so many of our experiences on staff - that we would have to not talk about in order to smoothly make this art. It made me realize that not only was I having a difficult time talking about it in this cartoon, but I have also had a difficult time talking about it in my life and that it's not fair. People should be able to express themselves, especially sweet childhood love stories. Why not?

Why do you think that you've been able to make so much progress in furthering the visibility, while other creators are hitting similar roadblocks?
I think that the stars have really aligned. I think that it's my team, it's the fact that we were all so dedicated to telling honest stories and to just fighting and fighting to get this material through and make it so entertaining that you could never deny how sweet and thoughtful and entertaining it is that there's just no way to say no. But then I think also at various levels we have had allies fighting for this to be made.

I was just learning about how The Answer book, which was also very difficult to make and I only just now found out that a big part of why it was made was that one of the big champions of the book was an ally for her sister. We've had allies at all these different stages, people for whom this is very personal and they understand the personal toll that can be taken. I think there are people at Turner [the company that owns Cartoon Network] who are LGBT who would see these notes come through and just realize how shocking they are and I think that it made all the difference. You have to try and do it so that when these feelings become visible. You know where they are so you can break them down.

I'm just extremely lucky to think I have had support. Instead of being told don't talk about this, I was given the option of being upfront about this even if it might become a problem. Cartoon Network allows for a lot of creative freedom, especially from these creative-driven shows so the responsibility really fell on us to tell the story that we wanted to tell. And I'm grateful to have been here, to have the opportunity to fight for this.

Steven Universe airs Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. on Cartoon Network.

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'Steven Universe' creator is doing more for LGBTQ visibility than you might know

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There's a reason Alex Hirsch, the creator of Gravity Falls, believes Rebecca Sugar is "at the front of the pack" and "pulling everyone else along" with regards to representation in kids' programming. "She really is the Moses parting the waves on this thing," he tells EW.